Insurance fraud is hardly new, but driving a top-end car into a river and completely submerging it is pushing the limits of both foolhardiness and safety. And being silly enough to virtually announce it to the world beforehand really then does not come as a surprise.
Meet Mr. Chen, the not-so-proud, former owner of a BMW which is now drying out in Yangzhou. And just having stopped shaking, from that we now know was a deliberate ditching, is a man surnamed Zhang, who was with Chen in the car at the time.
Chen is now under investigation, after the recording of a telephone conversation emerged, conclusively proving it was all an insurance scam.
Let’s back up a bit. In June last year, Chen bought his BMW X1 model from a second-hand car dealer, to later find the more it was driven, the more problems it had.
The dealer refused to accept a return of the vehicle, or make any kind of refund on the loan that Chen had taken out to buy it.
Wanting to sell the car but unable find a buyer, Chen was getting desperate. But a friend was soon to be involved in a similar incident, providing him with an idea.
His flash of inspiration led to Chen contacting another fellow villager, surnamed Jin, to say (paraphrasing Chen), “Hey, can you hang around there for a bit so that you can witness an accident”.
That’s the part of the conversation that Jin would subsequently hand to the insurance company after refusing Chen’s request and latterly hearing of the so-called accident.
On 30 May, a reporter for the Yangtze Evening News learned the details of the case from the Yangzhou police.
Chen maintained that he was off to visit his father in Hangji that day, a town under the jurisdiction of Yangzhou Ecological Science and Technology New City in the southeast of the City’s Guangling District.
That’s when he supposedly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, leading to the car careering down the river bank and into its deep waters.
But in this hot weather, Chen had left the windows on the car wide open so as to facilitate he and Zhang’s escape as the car quickly became submerged. While the move saved their lives and ensured the almost-certain success of his plan, Chen had made his second mistake; counting on Jin to remain silent.
Money wise, Chen had bought the BMW for ¥190,000. With a residual value in its sodden state of just ¥46,000, the insurance company had decided to settle the claim for just over ¥115,000 when Jin stepped in just in time.
At present, Chen has been criminally detained on suspicion of insurance fraud, while the case is further processed.
