Reports have indicated that a university student in Taiwan underwent the amputation of both legs in hopes of receiving a $1.3 million insurance payout, due to a scheme to defraud the law. The Taiwanese Criminal Investigation Bureau reported that 23-year-old Chang placed his feet in a bucket of dry ice for over 10 hours, resulting in a condition known as "severe frostbite," which ultimately necessitated the amputation of his legs.
After the amputations, he applied for financial compensation using eight insurance documents worth $1.3 million, claiming that the injury occurred while riding his scooter at night. However, his request was denied due to suspicions regarding the purchase date of the insurance policy, which was only a few days before applying for the payout.
Investigators stated that after riding the motorcycle, Chang submerged his feet in the dry ice and was taken to the hospital. However, the medical staff sensed something was amiss while assessing his condition. No signs of shoes or socks were found on his legs, and his injuries appeared symmetrical, which did not align with typical frostbite cases.
The bureau stated, "Since Taiwan is a semi-tropical area, cases of severe frostbite requiring limb amputation due to natural weather conditions are unheard of."
It was revealed that Chang's high school classmate, who goes by Liao, convinced him to commit this fraud, especially after suffering losses from cryptocurrency trading. Chang was also tricked into signing a legal memorandum obligating him to pay around $800,000.
The investigation uncovered that the police found the plastic bucket Chang used to freeze his feet, along with the insurance documents, a white polystyrene box for dry ice, eight mobile phones, and a tablet. Both Liao and Chang were arrested and charged with fraud and incitement to commit acts that led to Chang losing his legs and financial loss as well.
