And you thought the United States was litigious…

An elderly woman in Shenzhen has successfully taken advantage of a new law called the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Elderly People, enacted on July 1, which requires adult children to visit and care for their ageing parents.

A Henggang court has given a preliminary verdict saying a son needs to visit his mother at least once a week after she filed suit. It’s said to be the first case in Shenzhen in which an elderly parent has sued his or her child for irregular visit since the bill was enacted, Shenzhen Special Zone daily reports.

The plaintiff is an 80-year-old mother surnamed Liu, who lives in Longgang. She has a son, surnamed Li, and five daughters. After her husband died in 2011, Li rarely visited his mother, leaving her to wash her clothes and clean the house by herself.  Even when sick, Li did not send her to the doctor in a timely fashion.

She wasn’t all alone, however; her daughters took turns visiting and looking after her. After a few years, Liu moved in with one of her daughters, April. Even then, Li sent no money and visited infrequently. That’s when Liu decided to take advantage of the new law and file suit against Li, demanding weekly visits.

In considering its decision, the court pointed out that the bill says “family members should frequently visit the elderly.” Therefore, it was ruled Li’s neglect is not only against the law, it violates the ethics of Chinese society.  Even still, Li refuses to obey the order and has appealed the decision to a higher court.