A woman in Guangxi was shocked when she and her boyfriend went to the marriage registration office to get married and were told by the staff that she already had 6 marriage records. This news made it to the top of Baidu’s hot search list on February 16.
In October 2023, Xiaomei and her long-time boyfriend went to the marriage registration office in Nanning, Guangxi to register their marriage. However, after submitting the documents, Xiaomei was informed by the staff that records showed she had already been married 6 times.
The staff explained to Xiaomei that there were 6 marriage records registered under her name in the system, with marriages concentrated between 2013 and 2014 in different provinces and cities in China, including Quzhou in Zhejiang, Linyi in Shandong, Xiangtan in Hunan, Putian in Fujian, Baoding in Hebei, and Feixi in Anhui. All of these cities’ civil affairs departments had records of her marriage registrations.
Due to the records indicating she was still in a marriage status, Xiaomei was unable to register her current marriage.
Upon learning this surprising news, Xiaomei’s boyfriend chose to believe that Xiaomei was innocent.
Xiaomei called the civil affairs bureau in Qujiang District, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province, where her first marriage registration record was found, and explained the situation. The staff at the bureau stated that to revoke the marriage registration record, it needed to be confirmed that Xiaomei was a victim of identity theft.
Although the staff reported the case to the public security organs, since more than 10 years had passed, the case had exceeded the statute of limitations, and the police did not proceed with the case.
The staff suggested that Xiaomei could file an administrative lawsuit with the court in the location of the marriage registration office. After investigation and trial by the court, a judicial recommendation to revoke the marriage registration could be sent to the civil affairs department. However, Xiaomei expressed concerns about the lengthy legal procedures and the difficulties of managing the case across various cities in China while maintaining her job.
Following the staff’s advice, Xiaomei applied to the local procuratorate for supervision. Eventually, it was confirmed that Xiaomei had indeed been impersonated by someone else.
As for how Xiaomei’s accurate personal information appeared on the marriage registration form, she suggested that it might be related to her wallet being stolen in May 2013, which contained her ID card. In June of that year, Xiaomei’s name appeared on the marriage registration form at the Qujiang District Civil Affairs Bureau.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that a woman surnamed Wang (Wang Mou) had impersonated Xiaomei in the marriages for the purpose of financial fraud with multiple partners.
In 2015, Wang Mou was sentenced by a Hebei court for fraud, which specified her use of Xiaomei’s identity for marriage fraud.
Currently, all the marriage records where Xiaomei was impersonated have been revoked in the marriage registration system. In July 2024, Xiaomei and her fiancé returned to the marriage registration office to officially get married.
Chinese self-media “Information Express” commented on February 15 that this case was not just about identity theft but a sophisticated criminal chain: first, information brokers acquire lost ID cards for a price of 200 to 500 yuan; then, professional counterfeiters create fake household registration booklets with security codes for less than 30 yuan; finally, marriage brokers target older unmarried men in rural areas, taking a 10% commission on the dowry.
Netizen “NightDance909” remarked, “When the fraudster was caught, with previous records of fake marriages, couldn’t the false marriage registrations have been dealt with together?”