A 24-year-old Taiwanese student sacrificed his legs to get his hands on NT$41 million (S$1.7 million) worth of insurance payouts.

He soaked his legs in dry ice and later amputated them, in the hopes of receiving the hefty sum.

Applied for multiple policies

Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) revealed that the man, surnamed Chang, conspired with his former high school classmate, Liao, to carry out the plan.

Chang first bought multiple insurance policies and applied for a total of eight disability claims from various insurers.

They concocted a plan to make it seem as though Chang suffered frostbite on a cold winter's night.

On Jan. 26, 2023, Chang and Liao took a motorcycle ride around several places in northern Taipei, including Yangmingshan and Tamsui.

Then came the hard part.

Mimicking frostbite

Returning to Liao's home, Chang was prepped to endure 10 hours of excruciating pain.

According to Taiwan News, Liao bound Chang to a chair with cable ties.

The latter then immersed his feet into a plastic bucket filled with dry ice.

Chang sat there, enduring the pain from 2am to 12:20pm.

His friend took pictures.

On Jan. 28, Chang was sent to the hospital's emergency department.

Both of his legs had to be amputated below the knee.

Suspicious circumstances

After losing both feet, Chang sought to reap his rewards.

He managed to get NT$230,000 (S$9,700) from one insurer. But the rest were harder to fool.

Red flags were raised when the other insurers noticed Chang had bought the policies a little too close to his injury date.

The CIB found that his injuries were "neat and symmetrical", and his frostbitten feet did not have socks or shoe marks.

They deduced that it was likely a man-made injury.

The weather was another clue.

Data from meteorological agencies showed that temperatures on Jan. 26 ranged between 6°C and 17°C, which wasn't cold enough to cause frostbite.

Charged with fraud

Further investigations revealed that Liao was facing financial problems due to cryptocurrency losses.

He tricked Chang into signing an agreement stating that Chang would pay him NT$25 million (S$1 million), almost half the amount of the promised insurance payouts.

Chang and Liao ended up being charged with fraud, with the latter also facing charges for causing serious injury.

Top images via Taiwan's Criminal Investigation Bureau