Stubborn tenant sent to prison for defying court

A district court sentenced a woman to two years in prison for defying a court order to vacate her apartment for more than a year, Zhabei District People's Court said Monday.

The case began in January 2010, when the defendant, surnamed Chen, refused to move out of her apartment on Zhijiang Road Middle in Zhabei district after her landlord declined her request to extend their lease, according to a press release from the court.

Chen had signed a three-year lease in January 2007 to rent the apartment for 750 yuan ($120) a month.

In August 2010, the landlord sued Chen in Zhabei District People's Court to get her out of the apartment. The court ruled that Chen had to move out and ordered her to pay the landlord the rent she owed for overstaying her lease.

Chen appealed the case to Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People's Court, which upheld the district court's ruling.

Still, Chen refused to move out, according to the press release. The district court tried several times to persuade Chen to comply with the ruling, but she refused.

In August 2011, the court fined her 10,000 yuan for failing to comply with a court order. In December, it detained her for 15 days. The court said Chen deserved the prison sentence because she put off following the court's order for more than a year.