Man Can't Get Out of 'Haunted' Apartment >>THE GRUDGE???

SHANGHAI, China - A Shanghai court has turned down a man's attempt to cancel his apartment purchase after learning of a grisly murder committed there by a past resident.

Liu Hezhi said he was cheated into buying the apartment by original owner Yang Haixiang, claiming Yang lied when he said he wanted to sell quickly in order to buy a new property, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported.

"Yang cheated me into buying the apartment," Liu was quoted as saying.

Many Chinese believe homes where such inauspicious acts have occurred retain bad luck. Public knowledge of such incidents can make properties virtually impossible to sell.

Shanghai's No. 2 district court ruled that Liu had signed the final contract for the property even after learning that a former resident had killed his lover and dismembered her body inside the apartment.

Yang claimed that he too had been ignorant of the murder when the initial contract with Liu was signed.