Teacher prevails in Bt30m lottery dispute, ex-cop to be charged
Police on Wednesday concluded that the real winner of a Bt30-million lottery prize is a teacher in Kanchanaburi province and will charge a retired police officer with embezzlement and accepting stolen items.
Pol Lt-General Kittipong Ngaomuk, commander of the 7th Region, said he based the conclusion on interviews with a lottery vendor who insisted that she had sold the winning tickets to teacher Preecha Kraikruan.
Moreover, security camera footage from a camera about 20 metres from the vendor’s stall showed retired police lieutenant Charoon Wimul picked up the lottery tickets from the road.
Charoon also failed to present the vendor from whom he claimed to have bought the tickets, Kittipong said.
Kittipong’s statement at a packed press conference on Wednesday ended the much-publicised dispute between Charoon and Preecha related to the ownership of the tickets from the November 1 draw that won Bt30 million.
Preecha said he had lost the tickets after purchasing them and filed a complaint with police, while Charoon had claimed he bought the tickets from a vendor at a market and had already collected the prize money.