Family Members Marry And Divorce Each Other 23 Times In 2 Weeks To Access Free Housing

Eleven members of the same Chinese family married each other 23 times within a period of two weeks to obtain free apartments given out by the state.

The scam began when one member of the family, Pan, came to know about the renewal compensation scheme, where modest apartments of minimum 40 square meters were provided in a small village of Lishui city.

Pan married his ex-wife Shi, who was registered resident of the village in order to obtain a free apartment. Six days later, after she obtained her residency permit, Pan divorced her.

He continued the scam marrying his sister and then her sister-in-law within the next week. They registered as residents of the village after every wedding.

Pan’s father too married some relatives a few times. The already registered residents, married new people creating more residents in the village. According to Global Times, relatives including cousins, brothers, and sisters married a total of 23 times.

The scam came to light when the village’s redevelopment committee lodged a police complaint. Through the scam, 13 people became residents of the village and were eligible to receive the apartments, police said.

All 11 members of the family have been arrested, with four of them being detained. The investigation into the incident is still being carried out by the concerned authorities.