Several Taiwanese university students are accused of faking frostbite that ultimately justified double amputation in order to defraud insurance corporations.
Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau has charged a university student surnamed Chang with conspiring with a former highschool classmate named Liao to stage a bizarre insurance scam last January. Evidence presented to prosecutors shows that Chang purchased disability, injury, health and travel safety policies from not less than five insurers in early January last 12 months. On the night of January 26, Chang and Liao rode motorcycles through Taipei to make it appear that one in all them had frostbite due to the cold weather. The frostbite was actually self-inflicted and brought on by a bucket of dry ice.
Photo: TAIWAN OFFICE OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Chang and Liao hoped to earn roughly NT$41 million ($1.29 million) from the insurance policies they purchased, but to achieve this, one in all them had to make a really difficult alternative. After discussing the perfect plan of action, Chang agreed to surrender each legs for a rather larger piece of the pie (NT$25 million). He had to soak his feet in a bucket of dry ice for over 10 hours and agreed to have Liao tie him to a chair to ensure he could endure the grueling pain.
On January 28, after 10 hours of soaking his legs in dry ice, Chang was hospitalized, and since doctors were unable to save his lower limbs, he had a double amputation below the knee. Almost immediately after being discharged from the hospital, he filed a claim for compensation and truly received NT$230,000 ($7,240) from one in all the insurers, however the others decided to investigate.
The unusual variety of insurance policies taken out in such a brief time frame and the circumstances of Chang’s frostbite were considered suspicious by insurance corporations, and a few of them reported the case to local authorities. During the investigation, prosecutors determined that Chang had unusually symmetrical injuries, with no traces of shoe or sock marks.
Photo: Vlad Deep/Unsplash
When checking the weather on January 26, the night the frostbite allegedly occurred, the temperature ranged from 6 to 17 degrees Celsius, which is cold enough to cause frostbite. During a search of the 2 young men’s homes, authorities found insurance documents, medical records, and a Styrofoam box in which dry ice was stored.
Prosecutors say Liao was facing serious financial problems due to losing money in the cryptocurrency market and managed to persuade Chang to go along with his scheme and receive an enormous payout. On March 14, each men were charged with fraud, but Liao was also charged with causing serious physical injury to a friend.
This case proves once more that some people will do anything for money. Just a couple of weeks ago we wrote a few paraplegic man who paid someone to cut off his legs and fake an accident for insurance fraud, but there was also the case of a Slovak woman who allegedly cut off her arm for an insurance payout, and a Vietnamese woman who paid someone for cutting off her hand and foot in order to claim compensation.
