Winning the lottery is a lifelong dream for many Singaporeans. Some go to great lengths to select lucky numbers based on star signs and birthdays. But there are those who believe in making their own luck.

The Hean Leng Kong temple in George Town, Penang has been attracting visitors from Singapore after visitors claimed that stroking the huge fish helped them to win 4D. Take a look at the video from The Star Online's Facebook page below.

The Arapaima Gigas fish hails from the Amazon River but are known in the region as dragonfish. They can grow up to 4.5m in length. The fish regularly surface to gulp air, which makes it easier for temple visitors hoping for a stroke of luck.

A waitress named Alice Tan, 60, in an interview with The Star, said she struck 3rd prize after touching the fish and betting on the number 4093.

According to the Hokkien Thousand Number Guide (Cheng Jee Tor), the number 093 represents goldfish, while the number 4 represents how many fish there were in the temple.

Alice said you first need to offer prayers to the God of Prosperity at the temple before touching the fish.

"Don't bathe or wash yourself until the lottery results are out. If you bathe, this means that you will wash away your luck."

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Stall helper Kee Bock Cheng, 55, in an interview with The Star, said that she won a fortune after stroking the fish. She had more advice for visitors hoping to get lucky.

"You must touch the fish from head to tail. If you only manage to touch the tail, this means you can only strike the consolation prize. If the fish doesn't come to you, this means that you are luckless."

Still, you need to pick some numbers after doing all that, and 4093 can't win every time.

If you want the fish to actually tell you what numbers you bet on, there's only one hero who can help.

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Top image from AquariumDomain and Wikimedia Commons.