Chinese man arrested in Thailand on suspicion of drowning wife insured her for millions, say relatives
- Dead woman’s family suspected foul play in swimming pool death
- Thai police say man admitted beating and drowning his wife
A man from northern China has been arrested in Thailand for killing his wife in a hotel swimming pool in Phuket, mainland media reported.
Family of the victim, whose name was not revealed in the report, said Zhang Yifan, a resident of Tianjin, killed his wife to claim insurance policies worth more than 30 million yuan (US$4.35 million).
Relatives claimed that he had taken out many policies for her in the months before her death and said he forged her signature on the contracts, news portal enorth.com.cn reported.
Last week, Tianjin police agreed to investigate a claim of fraud against Zhang made by the woman’s father.
The victim’s parents said they hoped Zhang could be extradited to China, where they believed he is more likely to be sentenced to death if found guilty of killing his wife.
Lawyers advised them extradition from Thailand to China on such a serious charge was complex, so the father decided to make the fraud claim.