03 November 2025 :

A 23-year-old man in China was sentenced to death for killing his mother, surnamed Xu, in a staged road accident, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on November 2, 2025. The motive was to claim her insurance money, which was around 320,000 yuan ($45,000).
The man, surnamed Lu, along with his friends Yang and Cheng, came up with the plan. The son asked his mother, named Xu, to stand by the side of a rural road. She was then hit by the other two by a car.
All three were arrested after police realised that their alibis didn't match. The court ruled that Lu and Yang were guilty and sentenced them to death. Meanwhile, Cheng, who assisted in the crime, was sentenced to seven years in jail.
The verdict was announced by the Taizhou Intermediate People's Court in eastern Zhejiang province. But it was made public recently, the report mentioned.
In April 2023, Xu was injured in a road accident and received 320,000 yuan (US$45,000) in insurance. Lu and his friends took the money and spent it all on luxury items. They orchestrated this elaborate plan as they apparently thought insurance was easy money to get.
They initially planned to jab Xu in the eyes and get compensation for her injuries. But that plan failed, and they jabbed Lu's father in the eyes with a bamboo stick to claim insurance compensation of 1,300 yuan ($180).
The report mentioned that Yang apparently suggested to Lu to stage a car accident to kill his grandfather, but the latter disagreed, as he was brought up by his grandfather.
As per the report, Lu told police: "Yang told me that if we kill my mother and receive the insurance compensation, my family's life will be improved a lot. So I agreed to kill my mother."