A local court ruled that a Henan Province man bore no responsibility for the death of his girlfriend, a Jilin Province woman who jumped from their 16th floor apartment after a jealousy-fueled quarrel last October, Pudong New Area People's Court announced Monday.

The woman's parents had sued the man, whom the court called Xiao Hui, demanding that he take 50 percent of the responsibility for their daughter's suicide and pay them 51,000 yuan ($8,019) in compensation, according to a news release from the court.

The quarrel occurred on October 2, 2011, two days after the woman, whom the court called "Xiao Ye," moved into her boyfriend's apartment in Pudong. According to the court, Hui was playing games online around midnight when Ye asked to use the computer to log off from her instant messenger. Hui became suspicious at Ye's insistence that she close the software by herself, and the two started to argue.

During the quarrel, Ye's mobile phone rang from an incoming text message. Hui wanted to take a look, but Ye fiercely guarded the phone, the court said. The late night message and his girlfriend's steadfast refusal angered Hui, who started to pack a suitcase to leave the apartment. The argument continued for hours as Ye refused to let him leave.

Hui managed to find an opening to exit when Ye was changing her clothes around 2 am, but before he got out of the door, Ye called to him, saying she would prove her love. When Hui returned to the room, the windows were wide open and Ye was nowhere to be seen. He found her body on the pavement below.

A neighbor surnamed Yang testified the two had argued that night and claimed that she heard the sounds of objects breaking in their apartment.

Ye's parents blamed Hui for doubting their daughter faithfulness over a text message, which turned out to be an advertisement from a company, according to the court. They also accused Hui of abusing their daughter and failing to comfort her when she was in a fragile emotional state.

The court found no sign of physical abuse on Ye's body. It determined that Ye was an adult who was aware of the result of jumping from a 16th floor window. It also found that there was no way Hui could've anticipated she was going to react in such an extreme manner.

Global Times