A man found three 4D lottery tickets on bus service 925 and noticed that one of them had 6777 – the winning number for the first prize of the Dec draw.
The prize money was $10,000.
Upon discovering the ticket, the man, surnamed Wu, handed it over to the police in Toa Payoh via the property drop box on 1 Jan. He also made a report at a police station in Yew Tee on 3 Jan, thinking the owner might live near Marsiling as the bus was headed towards Marsiling MRT station.
The 70-year-old told Shin Min Daily News, “I also buy 4D, so I’d pay special attention to the numbers drawn.”
He knew it was a winning ticket because he remembered the first prize number of the day.
However, his good intentions might be for naught.
Shortly after the photo of the lottery circulated, members of the public observed that the ticket could have been doctored. In the photo, the last digit of the number 6777 appears to be a sticker pasted onto the ticket.
After being made aware of it, Wu told Shin Min on Monday (6 Jan) that he was shocked. He didn’t think someone could do something like this and shared that he and his friends did not pay close attention to the ticket.
“I immediately went to the police station to withdraw the report, and to make a report against the fake ticket, he said.
Wu said he’ll be more careful in the future and cautioned others to do the same when encountering a winning ticket in public.
Under the law, those found guilty of forgery for the purpose of cheating may face a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine.