Photo: IC

Authorities in a county in Central China’s Henan Province responded on Monday to a dispute over a betrothal gift after a video that showed the bride’s relatives allegedly demanding an additional 188,000 yuan ($26,791) bride price in cash before allowing the wedding car to leave went viral and sparked heated discussion online.

Local authorities clarified in a statement that investigation showed that because the groom transferred 188,000 yuan of betrothal gift to the bride’s personal bank account, the bride’s family thought that they did not directly receive the bride price, thus they prevented the wedding car from leaving.

A video clip showing a man climbing onto the hood of a wedding car to prevent the bridegroom taking the bride away went viral over the National Day holidays. The publisher of the video alleged that the bride’s elder brother and his wife stopped the car to demand an additional 188,000 yuan of bride price in cash, according to Xiaoxiang Morning Post report. The report added that the original video could not be found on the short video platform on Sunday.

Authorities in Huaibin county, Xinyang, Henan Province, formed a joint team, finding out the incident happened on October 1. According to the statement, police were later called to the scene to handle the situation, and the wedding proceeded smoothly. The local authorities issued a warning to the bride’s brother for his actions and organized mediation between the two parties, leading to a settlement where the groom agreed to pay 30,000 yuan to the bride’s family for the dowry.

Local authorities held a special meeting addressing the matter on Sunday afternoon, stressing the efforts to further update outmoded and undesirable habits and customs, and prevent such incidents from reoccurring.

Global Times