A 60-YEAR-OLD man who hatched a plan to fake his own death about 20 years ago to resolve his financial problems was given 36 months' jail on Friday.

Gandaruban Subramaniam, who had pleaded guilty to four charges, is the third person to be jailed for the insurance scam involving more than $300,000.

Both his younger brother, S. Moganaruban, 57, and former wife Renuga Devi Sinnaduray, 51, had served their prison terms of 26 months and 12 months respectively..

Gandaruban, who is jobless, will start his sentence on June 10 after he has settled his medical treatment arrangements.

His lawyer Subhas Anandan said his client, who had a bypass, is in ill health. A diabetic, he is also being treated for colon disorder and is seeing a specialist for his kidney problem.

The court heard that Gandaruban left for London in 1987 to avoid creditors after his car rental business collapsed.

He later left for Sri Lanka where he remained for the last two decades.

Between 1979 and 1982, he took out four life insurance policies.

He faked his death and sent a death certificate from Sri Lanka to his family to make claims.

Deputy Public Prosecutor James Lee said the scam involved the defrauding of both the High Court and insurance companies. Only about 10 per cent of the $331,341 had been recovered or paid back so far.

He said Gandaruban should get 26 months or more in view of the key role he played.

District Judge Toh Yung Cheong felt that the aggravating factors outweighed the mitigating ones.

Three other charges were taken into consideration during sentencing.