A woman was ordered by the court to apologize to her husband's mistress for taking pictures of the couple sleeping together in Chongzhou, southwest China's Sichuan Province, according to a report on the Jiangsu satellite TV program News Eye on August 3.

However, the court rejected mistress Chen Hong's request for 5,000 yuan in compensation, as wife Hu Wenlian's motive in taking the nude pictures was to collect evidence of her husband's affairs.

Hu did not release the pictures to the public, thus the court ruled that Hu's behavior did not constitute a violation of Chen's privacy.

Hu, who has been married to her husband Li Jun for nearly 20 years, discovered his affair with Chen in July 2002. On May 17, 2005, Hu and several of her relatives burst into Chen's home, taking the pictures of her husband and Chen sleeping nude together.

"My husband and I got along very well with each other since our marriage. In 1990, our son was born. Our relationship remained very well, " Hu told reporters from the TV station.

She then defended her right to collect evidence of her husband's adultery after accusing Chen of hurting her feelings and her family.

But Chen argued in her petition that Hu broke into her home without permission, violating her privacy and insulting her by taking the pictures.

A day before she took the photos, Li Jun filed for divorce at a local court, the News Eye reported.

"I only did this to save my marriage and keep my husband's love. But in the end, my family broke up," Hu told reporters.