"A woman in her 40s went to the hospital after an overseas trip, claiming she injured her head because of a flight attendant"

Hospitalized for 52 Days After Claiming Injury and Taking a Month-Long Overseas Trip
Caught by Notebook Detailing Insurance Payout Plans...Non-Detention Indictment

A man in his 40s who deliberately stuck his head out into the airplane aisle and collided with a flight attendant, then was hospitalized to claim insurance money, has been brought to trial.

According to a report by Yonhap News on the 1st, the Criminal Division 3 of the Busan District Prosecutors' Office Eastern Branch (Chief Prosecutor Song Bong-jun) announced that they have indicted a man in his 40s, Mr. A, without detention on charges of violating the Special Act on the Prevention of Insurance Fraud and false accusation.

In April of last year, Mr. A, while seated on an airplane, deliberately stuck his head into the aisle and hit the back of his head against a flight attendant’s chest. He is accused of claiming to have injured his head in this collision to receive insurance money.

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

According to the prosecution, although Mr. A claimed to have hit his head, he returned to Korea after a month-long trip and was hospitalized for 52 days. The insurance money he received at that time was 3 million won.

Separately from this incident, Mr. A also received 7.6 million won in insurance money using the same method, and additionally received 8.76 million won after being hospitalized for 39 days, claiming he fell during the boarding process of the airplane. It was revealed that he habitually committed insurance fraud mainly related to airplane boarding.

A prosecution official explained, "Mr. A showed meticulousness by committing the crimes on weekends to take advantage of the hospitalization rider of the driver’s insurance he subscribed to." This driver’s insurance hospitalization rider reportedly pays double the daily hospitalization allowance for injuries occurring inside transportation on weekends. Furthermore, when Mr. A was investigated for insurance fraud, he instead filed a complaint against the flight attendant for alleged negligence causing injury, which led to additional charges of false accusation against him.

The prosecution conducted searches of Mr. A’s residence and found plans for receiving insurance money written by him in his notebook. Through forensic analysis of his mobile phone and other means, they were able to uncover Mr. A’s insurance fraud crimes. The prosecution requested an arrest warrant, citing a high risk of reoffending, but the court dismissed the request.