The Ministry of Finance (MOF) yesterday asked Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中國信託商銀) to extend a recall for problematic lottery tickets after the police cracked down on a crime syndicate that allegedly sold “scratched” lottery tickets to retailers.
To maintain the stability of the lottery market, the ministry demanded that Chinatrust Bank disclose information about the damaged lottery tickets and reimburse customers who had bought them.
On Tuesday police found that some lottery tickets available on the market had already been “scratched” by sellers upstream before they were sold to retailers. The criminal syndicate allegedly kept the ones with winning numbers, the police said, adding that the scratches are so light that they can’t be seen with the naked eye.
Taiwan Lottery Co (台灣彩券公司) said on Wednesday that those who bought the “scratched” tickets could go to Chinatrust branches nationwide before next Friday to exchange them for new ones.
Chen Shueh-hsiang (陳雪香), deputy director of the ministry’s National Treasury Agency, said that the MOF had directed Chinatrust Bank to extend the recall time to ensure the rights of customers.
“The most important thing for now is to increase consumer confidence,” Chen said, adding that the agency had learned the serial numbers of the problematic lottery tickets and has suggested that Taiwan Lottery Co publicize them.
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