Chinese Man Sentenced to Death for Killing Mother in Elaborate Insurance Fraud Scheme

Representative image.

A 23-year-old Chinese man received a death sentence for murdering his mother in a deliberate road accident designed to claim insurance money totaling approximately 320,000 yuan ($45,000), according to the South China Morning Post.

The perpetrator, identified only by his surname Lu, collaborated with two friends, Yang and Cheng, to execute the scheme. Lu convinced his mother, surnamed Xu, to stand alongside a rural road, where she was subsequently struck by a vehicle driven by his accomplices.

Following the incident, investigators discovered inconsistencies in their stories, leading to the arrest of all three individuals. The Taizhou Intermediate People's Court in Zhejiang province convicted Lu and Yang, sentencing both to death, while Cheng received a seven-year prison term for his supporting role in the crime.

Prior to this incident, in April 2023, Xu had been injured in an authentic road accident and received an insurance payout of 320,000 yuan. Lu and his friends quickly depleted these funds on luxury purchases, which apparently inspired their belief that insurance fraud offered an easy path to wealth.

Their criminal activities began with a failed attempt to injure Xu's eyes to claim compensation. They subsequently attacked Lu's father, jabbing his eyes with a bamboo stick, which yielded a modest insurance payment of 1,300 yuan ($180).

According to court records, Yang had initially suggested targeting Lu's grandfather in a similar staged accident, but Lu refused because his grandfather had raised him.

During police interrogation, Lu confessed, "Yang told me that if we kill my mother and receive the insurance compensation, my family's life will be improved a lot. So I agreed to kill my mother."

This shocking case has heightened concerns regarding the growing problem of insurance fraud schemes in China.