The National Welfare Lottery (
But nothing could quite match the tears of both joy and disappointment produced yesterday as two people claimed the lottery's grand NT$2 million prize.
One of them, inevitably, ended the day in police custody on suspicion of counterfeiting.
The real lucky winner was, according to local media, a man in Nantou County who asked his lottery ticket distributor not to reveal his identity.
The man had apparently given himself a good chance of winning, having bought 100 tickets worth NT$10,000, the distributor said. It was a good thing he did: it was only on his final ticket that three NT$2 million icons appeared.
Lady Luck did not smile quite so kindly on another man who was arrested shortly after attempting to cash in on the NT$2 million prize.
Chen Ten-ti (
It did not take long for his hopes to be dashed, however, as the clerk found that the sealed code on the lower right corner of the ticket did not match the winning number.
Chen denied he had produced the counterfeit ticket himself, claiming he had picked it up on the ground in front of the jewelry store where he works. Police were having none of it and took him into custody.
Unfortunately for Chen, it transpired that he had already dug himself into a bit of a financial hole. In his elation after scratching off the ticket, Chen said he had rushed off to put down an NT$30,000 deposit on a new house.
Police are looking into his claims, and are investigating the possible involvement of organized crime in a counterfeit ring.
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