Vietnam woman gets limbs cut off by friend to claim insurance money

Hanoi, Aug 25: A woman in Vietnam has admitted to have paid for cutting off her foot and part of her arm so that she could claim insurance money,

The woman, identified as Ly Thin N, pretended to have been hit by a train in May, the People's Police Newspaper of Vietnam reported. The 30-year-old woman has now reportedly admitted to have committed the bizarre act of persuading a friend to cut off her limbs for 50 million Vietnamese Dong. She did so to claim more than $150,000 from her insurance policies.

In May, a 21-year-old man identified as Doan Van D had to the police that Ly was injured after being hit by a train while she was wandering near the railway tracks. At first, it looked as it Doan was an eyewitness to the 'tragedy' but later the woman confessed to the police that it was Doan who she had paid to sever her limbs and also remain a party to the deceiving act.

A supposed bystander, "Doan Van D", the same person who did the cutting, had called an ambulance after "finding" the injured woman on a Hanoi railroad.

Local media said the woman seemed to have been struggling in her business and feel short of cash.

The incident caused quite an impact among the social media users in Vietnam with one even calling it an "insurance fraud". Another expressed sympathy with her, asking how poor can one be to take such a step.

According to one BBC report, the police dropped the criminal investigation against the duo, Vietnam's Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

It also reported that Le Van Luan of the Hanoi Bar Association felt it would be difficult to legally charge the two under the country's existing laws and the authorities required a "new article for this kind of fraud".

Oneindia News