Court rules IOU not enough

Pudong New Area People's Court in Shanghai has rejected a woman's claim that her former lover owed her 100,000 yuan ($16,075) because she didn't have enough evidence to prove she actually loaned him the money, the court said Tuesday.

The plaintiff, surnamed Zhu, sued her ex-boyfriend for the sum in September on the grounds that he refused to repay a loan she had given him, according to a press release from Pudong New Area People's Court.

As evidence, she submitted an IOU for 100,000 yuan that the defendant, surnamed Shen, had given her, the court said.

Zhu and Shen, who was married, had been dating for some time when their relationship hit the rocks, the court said. The pair fought frequently. Zhu wanted Shen to lend her money to open a store, but although Shen agreed, he never followed through on the promise.

Eventually, Zhu grew more insistent about the money, threatening to tell Shen's wife about the affair. She went as far as to threaten to commit suicide, the court said. Shen relented and signed a piece of paper that said he owed her 100,000 yuan.

Not long after, Shen's wife discovered the affair, the court said.

She demanded that Shen stop seeing Zhu, change his phone number and close the bathhouse he owned near the other woman's home.

Zhu again asked Shen to give her the money he promised, but he refused.

After the lawsuit was filed, Zhu and Shen each submitted to polygraph tests to determine if either one of them wasn't telling the truth. Shen passed his test. Zhu failed hers. In addition, one of Zhu's close friends testified that Zhu once said she wanted the money as a kind of "breakup" fee.

The court determined that there wasn't enough evidence to support Zhu's claim that she lent Shen the money.

It also ordered her to pay 4,000 yuan to cover the cost of the polygraph tests.