A 36-year-old man in Hong Kong has been arrested on suspicion of theft after allegedly refusing to share about HK$30 million, or roughly S$4.85 million, in lottery winnings with 14 colleagues who had pooled money to buy a ticket.
Police said the man was responsible for placing the Mark Six bet and the winnings were subsequently deposited into his account.
A disagreement then emerged over how the money should be divided, before the man allegedly became uncontactable and one of his colleagues reported the matter to police.
The man was arrested on Friday, 11 September. He has since been released on bail pending further investigation and is required to report to police again in mid-October.
15 Colleagues Had Pooled Money for the Ticket
According to South China Morning Post, the group comprised 15 colleagues who chipped in to buy a Mark Six ticket for the draw on Saturday, 5 September.
The 36-year-old was tasked with buying the ticket and controlled the account that received the winnings.
After the group won, he allegedly refused to divide the money equally.
SCMP reported, citing a source, that the group held a meeting in Aberdeen on Wednesday to try to settle the dispute. The discussion lasted about 30 minutes, but no agreement was reached.
A 53-year-old member of the group subsequently made a police report that night.
Hong Kong police classified the case as theft and began looking for the 36-year-old before arresting him two days later.
Winnings Came From a Record Mark Six Draw
The 5 September draw was a special Mark Six 50th Anniversary Snowball draw.
Before the draw, the Hong Kong Jockey Club said the estimated first-division prize fund would reach a record HK$228 million, helped by a HK$185 million snowball.
SCMP reported that the eventual first prize was divided into 3.5 winning units, with each full unit paying about HK$63.3 million.
The amount at the centre of the dispute is about HK$30 million. Using the 12 September exchange rate of roughly S$0.1616 per Hong Kong dollar, that works out to approximately S$4.85 million.
Man Reportedly Works for Hong Kong Government Department
RTHK reported that the arrested man is understood to be an employee of Hong Kong’s Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
The department confirmed that it was aware of the police investigation and said it would cooperate where necessary. It declined to comment further while investigations were ongoing.
The man’s arrest does not establish that an offence was committed. As of 12 September, police investigations remain ongoing and no conviction has been reported.
