Taiwanese students jailed for defrauding insurance companies by amputating legs
Two students in Taiwan have been sentenced to prison for defrauding five insurance companies in a scheme where one of them claimed his legs needed to be amputated due to frostbite injuries from a late-night motorcycle ride.
The Taiwan High Court sentenced a man surnamed Zhang to two years in prison on June 20, with a two-year probation period. The other student, surnamed Liao, who was identified as the mastermind, was sentenced to six years in prison, South China Morning Post reported.
According to case files, from 2005 to January 2023, Zhang purchased multiple insurance policies from five companies, covering eight types of insurance, including health, life, accident, long-term care, and travel insurance.
In 2023, Zhang, who was then an undergraduate student, conspired with his former classmate Liao to plan the insurance scam.
On Jan. 26, 2023, the two bought dry ice and returned to Liao's home in Zhongshan District, Taipei. There, Zhang soaked his bare feet in a bucket of dry ice, while Liao tied him to a chair to ensure he did not stop midway.
Zhang kept his feet in the dry ice from 2 a.m. until around noon the next day, a total of 10 hours. Liao took photos and recorded videos documenting the process.
Two days later, Zhang went to the emergency room of Mackay Memorial Hospital, where he was diagnosed with severe frostbite on both calves, as well as bone necrosis, sepsis, and rhabdomyolysis. The frostbite was so severe that it led to the amputation of both his legs below the knees.
The duo then lied to the insurance companies, claiming that Zhang suffered frostbite while riding a motorcycle late at night in cold weather. They filed claims for compensation under the eight insurance policies from five companies, totaling NT$41.26 million (US$1.43 million).
One company paid out more than NT$230,000, but the other four companies found discrepancies and rejected the claims, United Daily News reported. All five insurance companies subsequently reported the case to the police.
After an investigation, the duo was charged with fraud. Liao was additionally charged with assisting in intentional self-harm that led to serious injury.
In the June 20 trial, the court ruled that Liao masterminded the scheme after losing money in cryptocurrency, while Zhang, having suffered pain due to his self-inflicted injuries, had reached agreements with some insurance companies, which led to a lighter sentence for him.
