A local court has ordered a man to pay 500 yuan per month to support his 70-year-old widowed mother, who took him to court for refusing to help pay for her nursing home care, Xuhui District People's Court said Tuesday.

The court ruled that parents have the right to demand financial support from children who fail to support them.

The mother, surnamed Wu, could not live on her own after she suffered a stroke in 2009, which left both of her legs paralyzed, according to a press release from the court. She lived with her son after the stroke, but they had a contentious relationship and quarreled often. In her lawsuit, she accused him of beating her.

Wu decided to move to a nursing home, but her 2,000 yuan monthly pension wasn't enough to cover the 2,200 yuan per month nursing home charges and 1,000 yuan in monthly medical fees.

Her son, a driver who earned 4,000 yuan per month, had promised to pay 500 yuan a month to support her.

In court, he argued that he could not afford the extra expense because his wife was unemployed and they were raising a son.

However, the court determined that Wu's son made enough to support his mother and ordered him to pay up.

Global Times