Shocking details of the death of a seven-year-old child in China have taken the internet by storm after a Fujian court revealed that a man staged a fatal accident to kill his son for insurance money. He enlisted the help of his cousin to plan the same.
He later collected 180,000 yuan ($25,000) in insurance payouts and shared 30,000 yuan with his cousin.
According to the South China Morning Post, the man was angry after learning about his wife’s extramarital affair.
How did the man plan the accident?
According to the court, Zhang, from Sanming City, masterminded the crime in 2020 after escalating arguments with his wife over money and her affair.
In October of that year, Zhang parked his car by the side of the road, told his son to get out, and moments later his cousin, who was driving a truck, crashed into the vehicle, killing the boy instantly. Zhang pretended not to know the driver and claimed it was an accident, the SCMP report said.
How did the incident come to light?
The scheme began to unravel when authorities discovered that the cousin had falsified his trucking license, prompting the insurer to deny compensation.
The court then ordered the truck owner to pay for the damage, which raised suspicions.
Truck owner Luo, shocked by the decision, along with one of Zhang’s friends, Ye, went to the police with their concerns. Luo revealed that Ye knew about Zhang’s plan to kill his son, but refused to get involved. After the boy’s death, Ye began to suspect Zhang’s involvement, but remained silent out of fear. The owner and a friend of the Zhangs alerted the police, and investigators uncovered a staged crash.
The accused was sentenced to death
Zhang’s cousin was given a two-year suspended death sentence, while Zhang was also sentenced to death but appealed – and the final decision remains undisclosed.
The case went viral on Chinese social platforms, attracting tens of millions of views and widespread outrage.
