Taipei: The union between Lai, a senior high school student who died just hours after getting married, and a man surnamed Hsia was ruled legally invalid on Wednesday, potentially affecting Hsia's claim to NT$500 million in real estate assets owned by Lai.

According to Focus Taiwan, the decision came in response to a civil suit filed by Lai's mother. The court noted that this ruling could be appealed. If upheld, Hsia will lose the right to inherit approximately NT$500 million (US$16.9 million) in real estate assets. The court emphasized that Lai and Hsia did not demonstrate "any mutual admiration for each other before the marriage," and their interactions were characterized as distant and unfamiliar.

The court was unable to establish that Hsia and Lai had the "true intention of establishing a permanent union with intimacy and exclusivity," leading to the conclusion that the union "lacked the essential requirements of marriage." This case unfolded after Lai's death on May 4, 2023, when he fell from Hsia's 10th-floor apartment just two hours after the marriage registration.

The Taichung District Prosecutors Office found insufficient evidence to charge Hsia with murder, as there were no signs of trauma or traces of poison or alcohol in Lai's body. Instead, Hsia was indicted in June 2023 and sentenced to 18 months in prison by the Taichung District Court in June 2024 for forging documents that led a civil servant to "make a false entry in public records" regarding the marriage registration.

The court determined that Hsia, who was 26 at the time, married Lai, 18, not for genuine reasons but to gain access to the NT$500 million in real estate assets Lai inherited from his father earlier that year. Following the incident, Lai's mother filed the civil suit seeking to annul the marriage formally. The ruling on Wednesday could impact the distribution of Lai's estate, pending any appeals.