BURI RAM - A man who claims he bought two lottery tickets that won first prize last month, but they were stolen from him, has sought help from a senior police officer after local police made little progress in the investigation.
Pansak Suechumsaeng, 31, of Wang Kadon village in tambon Hua Thon, was accompanied by relatives on Tuesday when he petitioned Pol Col Phumpat Pattarasriwongchai, deputy chief of Buri Ram police, for help.
He said there had been no progress in the investigation of the complaint he filed with Nang Rong police that his winning lottery tickets had been stolen.
He said he bought two tickets with the number 715431 for the Aug 16 draw. The number won the first prize. The two tickets would have returned him 12 million baht, but they had been stolen. He had filed a complaint with local police on Aug 20.
Mr Pansak said he earned a living as a hired-hand. On Aug 8, he bought the two tickets from a vendor behind Nang Rong Hospital, and could clearly remember the six-digit number on them.
He had wanted to buy tickets that ended with 5431. As the vendor had two tickets with the number 715431, he decided to buy them both. He stored the tickets under a stereo at his house and went to work as usual.
When the lottery results were announced around 4pm on Aug 16, he immediately returned home in delight, as he knew he had the winning tickets. However, the tickets were not there.
He suspected a 15-year-old youth who went to his house almost every day to listen to his stereo might have stolen them. The teenager had not been back to his house since the lottery was drawn, Mr Pansak said.
He had learned that the youth's father, who worked in Chon Buri, had arrived in Nang Rong and picked him up.
Mr Pansak said the vendor who sold him the tickets had congratulated him on winning the first prize. After hearing his story, the vendor offered to be his witness.
He was later told by Nang Rong police that a couple who have a petrol station in Roi Et province, a little to the north of Buri Ram, had already used the tickets to claim the money.
He was confident there was a link between them and the thief. He knew that the youth who came regularly to his house had relatives in Roi Et.
Pol Col Phumpat said he believed Mr Pasak had grounds for his complaint. He instructed Nang Rong police to speed up the case.
The lottery vendor, Suwat Chanplang,42, said he still had the stubs of the winning lottery tickets and was willing to be a witness for Mr Pansak. He felt sympathy for someone who had won the lottery, but had not received the money, Mr Suwat said.