Lottery Winners' Family Matter

Row over claiming 10 lakhs lottery win between husband and wife -Lottery Board in quandary

     A husband and wife from Gampola area were having a row with each other over a lottery win of 10 lakhs, claiming the winning money for oneself, separately and the Lotteries Board was faced with the dilemma as to whom the money should be given to.

     According to the wife, the lottery ticket had been bought with the letter 'Y' on it as it was told to be the lucky letter for her son according to his horoscope as he was to read the alphabet at an auspicious hour. However, she now complains that after the win, her husband has stolen the ticket and he says that the ticket was bought by him.


     What the husband says is that his wife had stolen the ticket when he was asleep and had photocopied it and even sent it to the Lotteries Board. Because of this discrepancy, the Lotteries Board had withheld the payment and had asked the couple to confirm ownership. Subsequently, both of them had gone and lodged an entry with the Gampola police station.

     The wife says that after buying the ticket with the letter'Y' on it, in order to check the numbers, she had remained beside the television and thus came to know about the win.  That night she had viewed the draw on TV and it was announced that the winner of 10 lakhs was a person from Gampola area and that the number of the ticket she bought had tallied. She told the police that she was so overjoyed that she informed it to everybody. But on that occasion her husband who behaved in an angry mood had stolen the ticket from her and now says that the said lottery ticket is his.

     The husband continuously denies the allegation and maintains that the ticket belongs to him. After this conflict was notified to the Lotteries Board, the Board had withheld payment of the prize. The payment as such has still not been made until yesterday (25) on this winning ticket which was drawn on 15th May because of this discrepancy which has still not been settled. Though the Lotteries Board has suggested to the couple who are resident in Ilangawatta, Kahatapitiya, Gampola to equally share the winning cash between the two of them or else it would be confiscated after 6 months, both had declined to do so.

     Since the husband and wife both insist that they want the total sum of money for each other, it is reported that their family too has gone on the rocks.

     Gampola police has now taken steps to find out who is telling the truth, launching a wide-scale investigation into the matter.

 Report -- Suranga Dilhan