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CRIME

Finger slicer’s insurance scam fails

An insurance salesman who sawed off his own finger and thumb to claim insurance was given a suspended sentence by a court in northern Germany on Friday.

Finger slicer's insurance scam fails
Ralf-Werner arriving in court last week. Photo: DPA

The court in Norderstedt, near Hamburg, handed down the 22-month suspended sentence to Ralf-Werner D. after he was found guilty of trying to defraud his insurers. 

The 50-year-old man had qualified as an insurance salesman shortly before the 'accident' in February 2010 and took out four separate insurance policies – with special clauses covering finger injuries – for himself.

If valid, they would have paid out a total of €1.4 million.

Ralf-Werner claimed his finger and thumb were lost when he tripped and fell over his two dogs onto a circular saw.

But a medical expert said in testimony to the court that it was "particularly astonishing" that the rest of his hand remained relatively intact.

"If I take out three insurance policies eight weeks before such a serious accident for such an irrational sum, something isn't right," the prosecutor said.

He added that the neat wounds to Ralf-Werner's hand were inconsistent with his story.

"There's a lot of evidence against the accused. There was too little blood on the saw. An automatic car was ready to go. That number of coincidences can't be real."

The fact that the injury happened to Ralf-Werner's non-dominant hand was also a tell-tale sign of fraud, prosecutors said.

“The man sitting here is no fraudster,” his lawyer responded at the time.

But police said there was “very little blood” when they searched the basement for Ralf-Werner's missing digits.

His wife 'found' them outside in the snow a week later.

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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