'Crazy English' teacher appeals divorce verdict

BEIJING - Chinese "Crazy English" teacher Li Yang has filed an appeal to a Beijing court over the divorce granted to his former wife, disagreeing with the domestic abuse charge and compensation order.

The Beijing Chaoyang District Court received Li's appeal document on Monday afternoon prior to the expiry of his appeal period on Tuesday, a court source told Xinhua.

On February 3, the court granted a divorce to American Kim Lee and Li Yang, who won fame for his "Crazy English" language-learning method, on the grounds of domestic abuse.

According to the verdict, Li was ordered to pay his former wife 50,000 yuan (about $7,960 dollars) in compensation for her psychological traumas and a one-off sum of 12 million yuan in consideration of the property the couple shared, in addition to an annual child support payment of 100,000 yuan to each of their three daughters before each turns 18.

In his appeal, Li disagreed with the property distribution and compensation, claiming he himself was also the victim of domestic violence in the relationship.

Li is known for creating the concept of "Crazy English," a method of shouting to memorize and practice the language.

He has been successful since starting his English-teaching business in China in the early 1990s. Lee used to be his partner as an editor of the company's publication products.