A man in Luzhou, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been jailed for breaking his own finger to extort $3,100 from a motorcyclist. Photo: screenshot of Sina Weibo

A man in Luzhou, Southwest China's Sichuan Province, has been jailed after breaking his own finger and planning a scheme to defraud a motorcyclist some 20,000 yuan ($3,100) in compensation. 

According to the motorcyclist surnamed Zheng, two men hailed the ride and sat on the back of his motorbike, asking him to take a bumpy path where the motorbike eventually overturned. One of the passengers surnamed Liu claimed that his finger was badly injured, and made Zheng accompany him to go to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a broken finger.

Liu told Zheng that it would be best to settle the issue in private, where Zheng was asked to pay 20,000 yuan in compensation. However, as Zheng was borrowing money from his relatives, he realized it might be a scam and reported it to the police.

A key piece of evidence for the police breakthrough came when doctors said the man's injuries did not appear to have been recent. It turned out that Liu had broken his own finger early in August, and later planned a scam with his accomplices specifically targeting motorcyclists.

Currently, three suspects related to the case including Liu have been detained by the local police.

Global Times