THE lengths to which some people will descend for money were highlighted last week in a bizarre case where a Slovenian woman was found guilty of deliberately sawing off her own hand as part of an elaborate insurance fraud scheme.
Julija Adlesic, 22, was found to have taken out five insurance policies in the year before her bizarre injury, according to a BBC report.
Adlesic and her boyfriend were arrested after she presented at a Ljubljana emergency department with her arm severed above the wrist.
Initially she had claimed to have cut off the limb while trimming branches, but prosecutors later accused the conspirators of using a circular saw to do the grisly deed.
A court hearing found that the woman and her boyfriend had intentionally left the severed hand behind rather than bringing it with them to the hospital, to ensure that her disability was permanent and boost any payout.
However, emergency workers recovered the hand in time to have it successfully reattached.
Testimony during the court proceedings found Adlesic had hoped to receive more than 1 million in payouts, including a 500,000 lump sum and ongoing monthly instalments.
The conviction will see her spend two years in prison, while her boyfriend, who had researched artificial hands online in the days before the injury, was sentenced to three years.
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