Recently, the official media of the Chinese Communist Party reported a “cheating insurance to kill wife” case, where a man, in pursuit of a large insurance payout, pushed his wife into the sea causing her death. After the incident, he was found soliciting prostitutes in a hotel. The man has been sentenced to death.
This incident took place in May 2021 on a ship sailing from Dalian, Liaoning to Yantai, Shandong. The man, named Li, was on the ship with his wife, Li Huan, for a sightseeing trip. When they were in a blind spot of the surveillance cameras, the wife fell off the ship and died.
On that day, Li and his newlywed wife Li Huan, who was significantly older than him, were returning to Liaoning from Shanghai to settle down in their hometown. They chose to travel by ship on their way back.
Little did Li Huan know, when she wanted to take a picture with her husband, Li was actually contemplating on how to kill her. Seizing the opportunity when his wife was not around, Li was seen shaking the railing on the deck by himself.
Ten minutes later, he lured his wife to the lower railing near where the lifeboats were parked and pushed her off into the sea.
After a 45-minute search, her body was found lifeless. As Li gazed at the corpse, he appeared paralyzed and kept calling out his wife’s name.
When questioned about the incident, Li claimed that his wife, who was short, wanted to see the sea, so he took her to a lower railing to fulfill her wish.
During this time, Li urged the authorities to issue a death certificate, citing a tradition in their hometown that required cremation within three days of death.
The entire ship had over 200 cameras, yet Li intentionally took his wife to a blind spot blocked by a lifeboat, raising suspicions. The police stated that a person falling accidentally into the sea would not exhibit aerial somersault movements.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the bride’s relatives were unaware of the marriage. Li, aged 44, was a top student from a prestigious university, had never been married before, and owned a restaurant in Shanghai. His wife, Li Huan, 46, had been married twice before, having two children, and worked as a waitress at Li’s restaurant. Their unlikely union and distant relationship after marriage were surprising to many.
Subsequently, a forensic examination confirmed signs of being punched and suffocated on the victim’s body, indicating that she was pushed.
Additionally, it was discovered that Li not only had a romantic relationship with a 19-year-old student mistress after marriage but also engaged in soliciting prostitutes shortly after his wife’s death.
A comprehensive investigation found that Li plotted to cheat a substantial insurance payout. If Li Huan died in a transportation accident, Li stood to receive over 12 million in compensation. Authorities revealed that Li had accumulated massive debts, overdrawing multiple bank cards under his and his wife’s names before the incident.
In July 2022, the Dalian Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Li to death for intentional homicide, insurance fraud, and other charges. In December 2023, the Liaoning High Court rejected Li’s appeal and upheld the original verdict.