Thirty-year-old has lost appendages and may face charges after telling authorities in Hanoi she was hit by a train

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A Vietnamese woman paid a friend to cut off her hand and foot in a failed bid to claim an insurance payout, state-run media reported on Thursday.



The woman, identified only as L T N, told police she had been struck by a train as she walked along the tracks and was rescued by her friend, D, according to Tuoi Tre’s English edition.

The 30-year-old submitted a claim to her insurance company for 3.5bn dong ($157,000). In Vietnam the average annual income is $2,100.

“N hired D to cut her hand and foot, then continued to have him report false information to the police,” said Bac Tu Liem police chief Nguyen Thanh Tung, according to the newspaper.

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L T N checked into a hospital in Hanoi in May with a third of her left foot and a third of her left hand severed. Doctors told her they could not reattach the limbs.

Hanoi police declined to comment to AFP about the case, but reports said the woman offered her friend about $2,000 to perform the deed.

“The greatest shame is that N, instead of claiming the money, has suffered a huge loss by losing both her hand and foot,” Tung was quoted as saying.

The woman is being treated for the wounds, the newspaper added, and police are looking into whether she should be charged with conspiracy to steal assets.

“Her case sends a warning that people should not attempt insurance fraud at the expense of their own health,” said Tung, adding it was the first case of the kind he had seen in Vietnam.