A Taiwanese man who took out five life insurance policies on his sister was spared the death sentence after being found guilty of murder.
Chen Chia-fu received a life sentence from the Tainan High Court yesterday, after being found guilty of murdering his sister to claim an insurance payout.
The court spared him the death penalty in order, it said, to shield his mother from the pain of losing both of her children.
Chen, a chef, took out five life insurance policies on his sister in 2012 that were worth a total of about $188,319.
It raises questions about what kind of due diligence the insurers carried out when issuing the policies. The double indemnity aspect of the death is what ultimately raised alarm bells for the police and should be a cause for concern for insurers. This is also raising questions about the underwriting that allowed a man to amass almost $200,000 in coverage on a sibling.
During his trial, Chen said that the insurance policies were financial considerations for his entire family, and although he had been diagnosed with mental illness, he did not kill his sister.
“The victim’s DNA was found at Chen Chia-fu’s residence,” according to court spokesperson Yeh Chu-cheng said. “Despite not being wealthy, Chen Chia-fu took out many insurance policies on his sister. These indicated that Chen committed the murder for the insurance payouts.”
The death penalty was initially sought during deliberation by the Tainan High Court, but the collegiate bench settled on a life term.
The emotional stress on Chen’s mother from losing her daughter and potentially her son, and human rights conventions were cited by the bench for not pursuing the death penalty.
Chen Chia-fu received a life sentence from the Tainan High Court yesterday, after being found guilty of murdering his sister to claim an insurance payout.
The court spared him the death penalty in order, it said, to shield his mother from the pain of losing both of her children.
Chen, a chef, took out five life insurance policies on his sister in 2012 that were worth a total of about $188,319.
It raises questions about what kind of due diligence the insurers carried out when issuing the policies. The double indemnity aspect of the death is what ultimately raised alarm bells for the police and should be a cause for concern for insurers. This is also raising questions about the underwriting that allowed a man to amass almost $200,000 in coverage on a sibling.
During his trial, Chen said that the insurance policies were financial considerations for his entire family, and although he had been diagnosed with mental illness, he did not kill his sister.
“The victim’s DNA was found at Chen Chia-fu’s residence,” according to court spokesperson Yeh Chu-cheng said. “Despite not being wealthy, Chen Chia-fu took out many insurance policies on his sister. These indicated that Chen committed the murder for the insurance payouts.”
The death penalty was initially sought during deliberation by the Tainan High Court, but the collegiate bench settled on a life term.
The emotional stress on Chen’s mother from losing her daughter and potentially her son, and human rights conventions were cited by the bench for not pursuing the death penalty.
