Man who claimed wife drowned in Phuket, murdered her for multi-million insurance claims

A man from Tianjin, China, is alleged to have murdered his wife during a family vacation in Phuket after buying up more than 30 million yuan (RM18mil) in life insurance policies in her name.

Shanghai.ist reports that the husband, named Zhang Weifan, took his wife, given the pseudonym Xiaojie, and the couple’s 20-month-old daughter to Phuket at the end of October. 

On the third day, Xiaojie’s parents received a call from Zhang’s parents saying Xiaojie had drowned in a private pool in the couple’s luxury hotel.

Xiaojie’s parents were suspicious as she was a good swimmer. 

After reporting his wife’s death, Zhang flew to Tianjin where he was confronted by Zhang’s parents who insisted that he accompany them back to Phuket. 

They found Xiaojie’s body covered in bruises and reported Zhang to the police. 

Under questioning, Zhang admitted drowning his wife. 

Xiaojie’s parents found that, in the months leading up to the trip, Zhang had bought more than 12 life insurance policies on his wife, which added up to more than 30 million yuan. 

Zhang was the sole beneficiary. 

The parents said they discovered that Zhang pretended to go to work each morning but was actually unemployed.

Around 158 gigabytes of pornography was also found on his computers. 

Xiaojie’s parents are now seeking Zhang’s extradition from Thailand, believing it is more likely he will get the death penalty in China. - The Nation / Asia News Network