The Fate of a Man in His 20s Who Soaked His Feet in Dry Ice for 10 Hours for Insurance Money

A Taiwanese Man in His 20s Loses Both Legs in Insurance Fraud Scheme
Receives No Payout and Is Convicted as a Fraudster

A man in his 20s from Taiwan immersed his feet in dry ice for over 10 hours in an attempt to claim insurance money, ultimately resulting in the amputation of both his legs. Despite sacrificing his legs, his fraudulent scheme was uncovered, and he ended up receiving no insurance payout and was convicted as a fraudster.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on June 25, the Taiwan High Court sentenced a man surnamed Chang to two years in prison with a two-year suspended sentence on June 20 for insurance fraud. His middle school friend Liao, who conspired with him in the crime, received a six-year prison sentence. The court determined that the co-conspirator had orchestrated the crime.

A man in Taiwan immersed his feet in dry ice for 10 hours to claim a large insurance payout. The photo was taken at the time of the incident. Photo by SCMP

According to reports, on January 26, 2023, Chang, who was a university student in Taipei, took out a total of eight insurance policies from five different companies. He then conspired with his friend Liao to commit insurance fraud.

Chang purchased dry ice and at Liao's home in Zhongshan District, Taipei, he placed his bare feet into a bucket filled with dry ice. Liao tied Chang's body to a chair with plastic straps to prevent him from removing his feet due to the pain. Chang endured with his feet in the dry ice from 2 a.m. until noon, for about 10 hours.

Two days later, Chang visited a hospital emergency room, where he was diagnosed with severe frostbite below both calves, along with necrosis of bone and muscle. He also developed sepsis. Ultimately, Chang had to have both legs amputated due to fourth-degree frostbite. Afterwards, the two falsely claimed that Chang had suffered severe frostbite after riding a motorcycle late at night and that his legs became cold. They filed claims with five insurance companies for all eight policies, seeking a total payout of 41.26 million New Taiwan dollars (approximately 1.918 billion Korean won).

One of the insurance companies paid out 236,427 New Taiwan dollars (about 11 million Korean won), but the other four detected suspicious circumstances and refused to pay. Eventually, all five insurance companies reported the case to the police, and prosecutors charged Chang and Liao with fraud and intentional infliction of serious injury.

The Taiwan High Court sentenced Chang to two years in prison with a two-year suspended sentence for insurance fraud. Liao, the middle school friend who conspired with him, received a six-year prison sentence. The court determined that Liao had orchestrated the crime and imposed a heavier sentence, while showing leniency to Chang in consideration of the extreme suffering he endured and the fact that he reached settlements with some of the insurance companies.