Two men have been charged criminally after one is said to have encouraged the other to intentionally freeze his legs to the extent of needing them to be amputated. Authorities have called this a failed attempt to collect a $1.3 million insurance payout.
The men from Taiwan who are in their 20s, only named as Zhang and Liao, are facing fraud charges.
Authorities say that Zhang put his feet in a bucket of dry ice. This was for close to 10 hours, leading to frostbite. Then, he needed both of his legs to be amputated.
Liao is said to have told Zhang that gang members were looking for him, convincing him to file a fraudulent insurance claim.
Zhang is said to have stated that he experienced frostbite as he was riding a motorcycle with his friend Liao, close to Taipei on January 26, 2023. Officials say that days before the incident, he had applied for life insurance, travel insurance, and accident insurance. The policies were valued at $1.3 million.
Afterwards, the two went back to Liao’s residence. That is where the foot soaking took place. Zhang was transported to a local medical facility where workers thought that his wounds were fake. The medical employees knew that his feet had been frostbitten. However, there were “no socks or shoe marks” and the wounds were “neat and symmetrical.”
Prosecutors also stated that the temperature that day was about 42 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not even close to the 32 degrees Fahrenheit temperature that would be needed to be frostbitten.
As Zhang’s legs had been cut off below the calf, it was reported to authorities. When an investigation took place, a dry ice white styrofoam box, a plastic bucket thought to have been used by Zhang, insurance papers, and electronics devices were seized. On January 14, the two were apprehended.
Prosecutors say that Liao experienced losses from trading cryptocurrency and got Zhang to sign a promissory note, ordering him pay almost $800,000.
Reports indicate that Zhang had gotten a $7,200 insurance payout. However, the money will be seized. The other claims filed after the occurrence were seemingly canceled by the insurance providers because of the short time between obtaining the policies and filing them.
