Crazy English' founder ordered to pay US$1.9m
By Liang Yiwen | 2013-2-4 |
Kim Lee (L) and Li Yang (R)
Kim Lee talks to reporters after the court's verdict, telling them she was satisfied with the terms of the divorce settlement.
LI Yang, the founder of the "Crazy English," has been ordered to pay his American wife Kim Lee more than 12 million yuan (US$1.9 million) in a divorce granted because of his domestic abuse.
In addition, Lee was granted custody of their three daughters, now aged 10, 6 and 4, and their father must pay child support of 100,000 yuan a year for each until they reach the age of 18.
Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court also ruled yesterday that Li should pay 50,000 yuan to Lee for psychological trauma and agreed to Lee's request for a three-month restraining order against him.
The court ruled that Li could keep property registered in his name, and the stock rights and registered trademark of his language teaching company, while he should pay Lee a one-off sum of 12 million yuan in consideration of the property the couple shared.
On hearing the verdict, Lee broke down and burst into tears, China News Service said. But she soon regained her composure to tell reporters that Chinese women must defend their rights.
In 2011, Lee, who filed for the divorce, uploaded pictures showing injuries, including a bleeding left ear, swollen forehead and bruised knees, she said had been caused by her husband.
She became something of a folk hero for China's battered wives after she went online to accuse Li of beating her on several occasions. A week after the online revelations, Li was forced to make a public apology.
He wasn't in court yesterday. His lawyer said a flight delay meant Li couldn't get there in time from east China's Jiangsu Province. The lawyer said he would talk with his client to determine whether there would be an appeal.
Lee said she wouldn't stop Li seeing their daughters and would arrange for them to meet, if he wanted to see them.
Shouting out
"Divorce is not a happy thing," Lee told reporters yesterday.
She said she couldn't sleep the night before the verdict but hoped she would be able to sleep well in the future. She said she was satisfied with the court's decision.
Li became famous for creating the concept of "Crazy English," a method of shouting out words and phrases to memorize and practice the language. He claims to have taught millions of people to speak English since the early 1990s.
He once told reporters he married his wife not out of love but to research American child-raising techniques. He even told the media that wife-beating was normal in China.
The pair met in 1999 and were married in 2005 in Las Vegas, a few years after the birth of their eldest daughter.
Lee updated her Weibo microblog yesterday after the verdict, saying: "Believe that there's light at the end of the tunnel."
By Liang Yiwen | 2013-2-4 |
Kim Lee (L) and Li Yang (R)
Kim Lee talks to reporters after the court's verdict, telling them she was satisfied with the terms of the divorce settlement.
LI Yang, the founder of the "Crazy English," has been ordered to pay his American wife Kim Lee more than 12 million yuan (US$1.9 million) in a divorce granted because of his domestic abuse.
In addition, Lee was granted custody of their three daughters, now aged 10, 6 and 4, and their father must pay child support of 100,000 yuan a year for each until they reach the age of 18.
Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court also ruled yesterday that Li should pay 50,000 yuan to Lee for psychological trauma and agreed to Lee's request for a three-month restraining order against him.
The court ruled that Li could keep property registered in his name, and the stock rights and registered trademark of his language teaching company, while he should pay Lee a one-off sum of 12 million yuan in consideration of the property the couple shared.
On hearing the verdict, Lee broke down and burst into tears, China News Service said. But she soon regained her composure to tell reporters that Chinese women must defend their rights.
In 2011, Lee, who filed for the divorce, uploaded pictures showing injuries, including a bleeding left ear, swollen forehead and bruised knees, she said had been caused by her husband.
She became something of a folk hero for China's battered wives after she went online to accuse Li of beating her on several occasions. A week after the online revelations, Li was forced to make a public apology.
He wasn't in court yesterday. His lawyer said a flight delay meant Li couldn't get there in time from east China's Jiangsu Province. The lawyer said he would talk with his client to determine whether there would be an appeal.
Lee said she wouldn't stop Li seeing their daughters and would arrange for them to meet, if he wanted to see them.
Shouting out
"Divorce is not a happy thing," Lee told reporters yesterday.
She said she couldn't sleep the night before the verdict but hoped she would be able to sleep well in the future. She said she was satisfied with the court's decision.
Li became famous for creating the concept of "Crazy English," a method of shouting out words and phrases to memorize and practice the language. He claims to have taught millions of people to speak English since the early 1990s.
He once told reporters he married his wife not out of love but to research American child-raising techniques. He even told the media that wife-beating was normal in China.
The pair met in 1999 and were married in 2005 in Las Vegas, a few years after the birth of their eldest daughter.
Lee updated her Weibo microblog yesterday after the verdict, saying: "Believe that there's light at the end of the tunnel."
