The Korea Herald

피터빈트

Woman faking pregnancy caught for W27m traffic accident fraud

By Lim Jae-seong

Published : Feb. 23, 2023 - 14:18

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A capture of the video of the suspect approaching a victim's car. (Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency) A capture of the video of the suspect approaching a victim's car. (Jeonbuk Provincial Police Agency)

A woman in her 30s was apprehended by the police on suspicion of decieving drivers into believing she was hit as a pregnant woman pedestrian at least 103 times.

Jeonju Wansan police are investigating traffic accident fraud cases where a woman was suspected to have received at least 27 million won ($20,700) from drivers and insurance companies by deliberately colliding with passing cars with her wrist or ankle, according to the police on Monday.

The fraudulent accidents had been occuring since October 2018 across South Korea including Jeonju in North Jeolla Province, Gwangju and Busan. The police caught the woman's fraudulent activity while investigating a traffic accident case in Jeonju last October.

The police found that the suspect pretended to be pregnant to draw sympathy from the victims and mainly targeted women drivers for the same reason.

Victims also reported that she had urged a settlement before bringing the case to the police to avoid police scrutiny.

The woman was found to be using the compensation money for her living and entertainment expenses, according to police.