An elderly couple from Henan Province’s Xiangcheng District, Mr. and Mrs. Zhang have sued their wealthy son for failing to take care of them.

In parts of the world with large Chinese communities, it is not uncommon for parents to take legal action against their offspring for neglecting them in their old age.

According to Chinese news portal Sohu, the elderly couple first dragged their son to court last year. After a short court battle, on May 10, 2019, the son was ordered by the district’s People’s Court to pay set alimony to his mother and father every month, but he continued to ignore his legal duty.

A year after, the couple decided to involve the police to enforce the judge’s verdict after he failed to provide for them.

First, a police officer called their son advised him to start fulfilling his legal duty to his parents, but after the man flat out refused, social workers stated and investigation and discovered that he had plenty of money in his bank accounts, but simply refused to pay.

His accounts were reportedly frozen and will remain so until all the money “owed” his parents have been paid.

Speaking about the son’s refusal to take care of his parents aged over 70, one of the police officers involved in this case told Sohu. “I hope that everyone knows that taking care of parents is the responsibility of their children so that painful things like this don’t happen again.”

Failing to take care of your elderly parents is actually considered a legal offense both in China and in other countries with large Chinese communities, like Singapore or Taiwan.

It’s actually not uncommon for parents to sue their offspring for neglecting them in their old age, and while most reconcile their differences before having punitive measures enforced, some don’t and police, revenue service and banks have to get involved.