At midnight on May 5, 2016, in Hanoi’s Bac Tu Liem district, Ly Thi N handed her friend Doan Van D about $2,200 with a precise instruction: cut off her left hand and foot. The plan was to pretend she had been run over by a train and claim health insurance for the equivalent of $150,000. Her business was going through serious financial difficulties, and the numbers were not adding up.
Surgeons reattached the amputated limbs. Four days later, the tissue had died from necrosis and they had to remove them permanently. Ly Thi N was left permanently without her hand and foot. The police, who were already investigating inconsistencies in the alleged railway accident, determined that the scenario was impossible and traced every detail until they reconstructed the entire operation. Doan Van D received a fine equivalent to about $30 for his participation.
Ly Thi N was 30 years old and was originally from Tuyen Quang province. She did not collect the insurance. She did not recover her limbs. And the body, indifferent to any financial calculation, simply rejected the tissue and followed its course.
