Woman fakes her own death to collect ₹40 lakh insurance payout, arrested

A woman from Vietnam has been arrested five years after she was officially declared dead, exposing an elaborate insurance fraud through which she gained more than VND1.2 billion (around ₹40 lakh). A Vietnamese woman faked her own death to collect insurance payouts Authorities in Vietnam’s Thanh Hoa Province said the case came to light on December 17, when a woman identifying herself as Nguyen Thi Thu approached the Quang Trung Ward People’s Committee seeking to annul her death regration. Officials were startled to find that a person with the same name and address had been legally declared dead in June 2020. Police verification raises red flagsAccording to a report in VN Express, ward-level police launched verification procedures and soon confirmed that the applicant was the same individual whose death had been officially regered years earlier. The case was handed over to the Thanh Hoa Provincial Police’s Investigation Police Agency. Insurance policies taken before staged deathPolice established that Thu (born in 1984) divorced her husband in 2017 and moved back in with her mother, Tran Thi Thap. During this period, Thu frequently travelled to southern provinces for work and purchased four life insurance policies from Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited and Phu Hung Life Insurance JSC. In 2020, after learning she had cancer and amid escalating disputes at home, Thu allegedly began planning to fake her death in order to claim insurance benefits and disappear under a new identity. According to investigators, her mother initially rejected the proposal. Thap later told police: “When I first heard about the plan, I firmly refused. But she threatened to bite an electric wire and kill herself if I did not agree. I was afraid of losing my child and still receiving no insurance money.” Fake funeral and secret escapeOn the morning of June 7, 2020, Thu reportedly took sleeping pills and staged a fatal accident in the bathroom, leaving visible injuries to support the deception. Family members and local authorities were informed that she had died suddenly, prompting funeral arrangements. To avoid suspicion, the funeral was organised quickly and discreetly. A local shaman from Hoat Giang Commune was hired to ass in the burial process. Investigators said only Thu, her mother and the shaman knew the truth. The shaman died in 2022. Later that night, Thu quietly left the house and stayed briefly with the person who had assed with the funeral before travelling to Dong Nai Province, where she lived and worked while remaining legally dead. Insurance payouts exceed VND1.2 billionThe following day, June 8, 2020, Thap completed official death regration procedures, ling “sudden death” as the cause. She then contacted multiple insurance companies to initiate benefit claims. A search of Thap’s residence uncovered documents confirming payouts of more than VND682 million from Prudential and over VND600 million from Phu Hung Life Insurance. Investigators said the money was channelled through relatives, including Thu’s younger ser, as Thu had no valid identity documents or bank accounts. Police said the funds were later used for property purchases and investment activities. Confession and criminal chargesDuring questioning, Thu admitted that she abandoned thoughts of suicide after realising it would invalidate insurance claims. She told investigators: “If I killed myself, the insurance would not pay out. I faked my death so I could get the money and then go far away and cut off all contact.” Thanh Hoa Provincial Police have ordered the temporary detention of both Nguyen Thi Thu and Tran Thi Thap. The pair are being investigated on charges of insurance fraud under Vietnamese law.