When you take grifting to a whole other level: a college student in Taiwan currently faces charges for staging a frostbite incident to fraudulently claim insurance compensation exceeding $1.3 million.
A male college student, Chang, was charged with committing insurance fraud by falsely claiming that his legs were amputated due to frostbite from riding his scooter in cold weather around Taiwan, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) reportedly revealed on Thursday (March 14).
Insurance fraud refers to any act committed with the intent to obtain fraudulent outcomes from an insurance process.
Chang allegedly immersed his feet in a bucket filled with dry ice for 10 hours, resulting in severe frostbite and necrosis below the knees, according to a CIB press release.
After having both legs amputated, he applied for compensation from eight insurance policies totaling NT$41.26 million (US$1.3 million), citing injuries sustained while riding his scooter at night around the country, Taiwan News reported.
Nevertheless, Chang’s compensation demands were quickly flagged before being finally denied as a result of the time between the insurance policies being purchased and the claims filed being too short.
Chang, was charged with committing insurance fraud by falsely claiming that his legs were amputated due to accidental frostbites
Image credits: CIB
Image credits: CIB
Typically, insurance companies become suspicious when a client purchases insurance shortly before filing a claim, as it may indicate that the policy was obtained to make a fraudulent claim.
Chang reportedly alleged that a fellow student, Liao, told him that gang members were after him, prompting him to fabricate an insurance claim.
The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office did not believe Chang and Liao’s assertions and charged the duo, both in their twenties, with fraud and embezzlement.
According to Investopedia, embezzlement refers to a form of white-collar crime in which a person or entity intentionally misappropriates the assets entrusted to them. In this type of fraud, the embezzler attains the assets lawfully and has the right to possess them, but the assets are then used for unintended purposes.
Chang and Liao were originally high school classmates, Taiwan News reported. After entering university, they lost contact for a while but later reconnected.
Chang, who is now disabled due to the incident, reportedly works in an administrative role at the school while Liao is still studying there.
The indictment (a formal accusation or charge of a serious crime) states that on January 26, 2023, Chang and Liao rode scooters to purchase dry ice in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District.
Later that night, they returned to Liao’s residence in Taipei City’s Zhongshan District, where he proceeded to restrain Chang to a chair using cable ties.
Chang allegedly immersed his feet in a bucket filled with dry ice for 10 hours, resulting in severe frostbite and necrosis below the knees
Image credits: Reddit
Chang’s feet were subsequently plunged into a plastic bucket filled with dry ice. Chang endured the pain from 2 a.m. until 12:20 p.m. while Liao recorded and took photos of the incident, Taiwan News reported.
On January 28, Chang was reportedly sent to the emergency department of Mackay Memorial Hospital in Taiwan’s capital city.
After more than a week of treatment, both of his legs were reportedly amputated below the knees.
Chang went on to obtain over NT$230,000 ($7,222.30) through insurance claims. However, other insurance policies were found to have been purchased shortly before the claims were made, with some just a few weeks apart.
The insurance companies consequently refused to pay out and reported the case to the authorities.
"I can't imagine the pain," a reader commented
