Twenty-five months’ jail for US$780,000 fraudulent insurance death claim
2019-9-17
A beneficiary of two insurance policies, charged by the ICAC, was today (September 17) sentenced to 25 months’ imprisonment at the District Court for her role in a fraudulent insurance death claim bearing a maximum compensation of US$780,000.
Liu Fang, 34, businesswoman, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law.
In sentencing, Judge Mr Ernest Lin Kam-hung said the court had to mete out a deterrent sentence as the defendant was a key culprit of a premediated cross-border insurance scam.
The judge also noted that the scam could have increased the operational costs of insurance companies in vetting insurance claims, and the burden would be shifted to members of the public.
The judge said he took a starting point of 42 months’ imprisonment. Having considered the defendant’s guilty plea and medical report, her jail term was reduced to 25 months.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above offence.
The court heard that in March and July 2015, Dah Sing Life Assurance Company Limited (Dah Sing Life), an authorised insurer in Hong Kong, received two applications from a Mainland policyholder submitted through an insurance agent of the company for taking out two life insurance policies respectively.
After the applications were approved, Dah Sing Life issued the policyholder with two insurance policies of basic insured sum totalling US$380,000 and additional insured sum totalling US$400,000.
As the beneficiary of the two policies, the defendant was entitled to receive a maximum compensation totalling US$580,000 or US$780,000 for the policyholder’s natural death or accidental death respectively.
In a meeting in or about May 2016, the defendant, the policyholder and the insurance agent agreed for the defendant to submit a death claim to Dah Sing Life under the two policies by falsely representing that the policyholder had died, so as to deceive the insurer of a compensation of about HK$5 million.
As arranged by the policyholder, the defendant obtained a death certificate bearing the name and company chop of the policyholder’s employer, a power supply company in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, in May 2016. The certificate stated that the policyholder died of sudden heart attack on May 26, 2016, and was buried four days later.
On June 2, 2016, the defendant further obtained a medical certificate of death and a deregistration certificate of the policyholder from a community health service centre and a police station in Jinzhong respectively.
On the following day, the defendant, accompanied by the insurance agent, submitted a death claim form supported by the death certificate and the deregistration certificate to Dah Sing Life in its office in Hong Kong.
The court heard that the power supply company had never issued the death certificate, while colleagues of the policyholder had met him alive on different occasions in 2017.
Dah Sing Life, currently known as Tahoe Life Insurance Company Limited, and the power supply company had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Marcus Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Justin Tung.
Liu Fang, 34, businesswoman, earlier pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud, contrary to Common Law.
In sentencing, Judge Mr Ernest Lin Kam-hung said the court had to mete out a deterrent sentence as the defendant was a key culprit of a premediated cross-border insurance scam.
The judge also noted that the scam could have increased the operational costs of insurance companies in vetting insurance claims, and the burden would be shifted to members of the public.
The judge said he took a starting point of 42 months’ imprisonment. Having considered the defendant’s guilty plea and medical report, her jail term was reduced to 25 months.
The case arose from a corruption complaint. Subsequent ICAC enquiries revealed the above offence.
The court heard that in March and July 2015, Dah Sing Life Assurance Company Limited (Dah Sing Life), an authorised insurer in Hong Kong, received two applications from a Mainland policyholder submitted through an insurance agent of the company for taking out two life insurance policies respectively.
After the applications were approved, Dah Sing Life issued the policyholder with two insurance policies of basic insured sum totalling US$380,000 and additional insured sum totalling US$400,000.
As the beneficiary of the two policies, the defendant was entitled to receive a maximum compensation totalling US$580,000 or US$780,000 for the policyholder’s natural death or accidental death respectively.
In a meeting in or about May 2016, the defendant, the policyholder and the insurance agent agreed for the defendant to submit a death claim to Dah Sing Life under the two policies by falsely representing that the policyholder had died, so as to deceive the insurer of a compensation of about HK$5 million.
As arranged by the policyholder, the defendant obtained a death certificate bearing the name and company chop of the policyholder’s employer, a power supply company in Jinzhong, Shanxi Province, in May 2016. The certificate stated that the policyholder died of sudden heart attack on May 26, 2016, and was buried four days later.
On June 2, 2016, the defendant further obtained a medical certificate of death and a deregistration certificate of the policyholder from a community health service centre and a police station in Jinzhong respectively.
On the following day, the defendant, accompanied by the insurance agent, submitted a death claim form supported by the death certificate and the deregistration certificate to Dah Sing Life in its office in Hong Kong.
The court heard that the power supply company had never issued the death certificate, while colleagues of the policyholder had met him alive on different occasions in 2017.
Dah Sing Life, currently known as Tahoe Life Insurance Company Limited, and the power supply company had rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by Acting Senior Public Prosecutor Marcus Lee, assisted by ICAC officer Justin Tung.