Chinese man murders wife in 143 million baht life-insurance scam

“…in the months leading up to the trip, Zhang had bought more than a dozen life insurance policies for his wife…”

A Chinese husband from Tianjin is alleged to have murdered his wife during a family vacation in Phuket after buying up more than 30 million yuan (US$4.3 million) in life insurance policies in her name.

Shanghai.ist reports that the husband, named Zhang Weifan, took his wife, given the pseudonym Xiaojie, and the couple’s 20 month old daughter to Phuket at the end of October this year.

On the third day after their arrival, Xiaojie’s parents received a call from Zhang’s parents who informed them that Zhang had told them that Xiaojie had drowned in a private pool in the couple’s suite at a luxury hotel.

According to a report from The Paper, Xiaojie’s parents were initially suspicious of their daughter’s alleged cause of death, remembering that she was a good swimmer.

Somehow, after reporting his wife’s death, Zhang was able to fly out of Thailand back to Tianjin where he was confronted by Zhang’s suspicious parents who insisted that he accompany them back to Phuket.

There, the parents had their suspicions confirmed when they were allowed to view Xiaojie’s body. Finding their daughter’s corpse covered in bruises, the couple then reported Zhang to the police. Under questioning, Zhang admitted to holding his wife’s head under water until she drowned.

Further investigation by Xiaojie’s parents uncovered that in the months leading up to the trip, Zhang had bought more than a dozen life insurance policies on his wife which added up to a total payout of more than 30 million yuan with Zhang as the sole beneficiary.

Xiaojie’s parents have since discovered that while Zhang had pretended to go to work each morning, he was actually unemployed. A total of 158 gigabytes of porn was also found on his computers.

Xiaojie’s parents are now seeking Zhang’s extradition from Thailand, believing that is more likely that he will get the death penalty in China.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Shanghai.ist