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[UPDATED on Wednesday, May. 17 at 10:30am: The article has been updated with a statement from Live4D.]

Is it possible for the same number to appear as the two of the top three prize-winning 4D numbers for a given draw?

That's what some users of an unofficial mobile app Live4D.sg must have wondered on May 14 evening, when the app displayed identical four-digit winning numbers for both the grand prize and the third prize.

This baffling occurrence was highlighted in a Facebook post by user Yeo Miang Hock in the group "2017 不吐不快" on the same day, at around 8:42pm.

The left screenshot showed what Yeo originally saw on the app, where the winning number, 9250, was repeated for both the grand prize and third prize.

Later, the mobile app indicated that 1401, 6867 and 9250 were the winning combinations for the top three lottery prizes respectively.

Yeo wrote: "Today is Mother's Day and not April Fool's Day! The original winning numbers for the lottery were ridiculous. How can it be that 9250 can win both the grand prize and third prize? I've never seen something like this happen before."

The 4D aficionado also questioned why the winning combination for the grand prize seemed to have changed from 9250 to 1401.

It turns out, the actual number for the top prize was 1401, according to the Singapore Pools website .

Staff keyed in the winning numbers wrongly: App spokesperson

Chen Guorong (transliteration), a spokesperson for Live4D.sg, explained to Shin Min Daily News that a staff member had made a mistake when keying in the lottery's winning numbers.

According to him, the staff had manually keyed in the winning numbers on-site, where the lottery beads were being drawn.

"After our staff realised the mistake, it was rectified immediately," Chen shared with Shin Min.

He added that the app refreshed after about a minute, and subsequently showed the correct lottery result.

Chen also advised lottery buyers not to immediately throw away their tickets after the results are published, in case there is a mistake in the reporting of the results.

For instance, they can check the official Singapore Pools website for the most accurate results.

Reporting of 4D and Toto results 'may be inaccurate'

A disclaimer on the mobile app reminds users that it is developed and provided independent of the involvement of Singapore Pools.

As such, the reporting of 4D and Toto results "may be inaccurate", it added.

On the Google Play store, two users have left negative reviews about the app displaying inaccurate results on Mar. 4, 2023.

According to them, the number '4049' was first indicated as a winning number, but was later replaced by '2203', which appeared twice on the list of winning combinations.

In response to Mothership's queries, the app developer revealed that the error on Mar. 4 had happened about 15 minutes after the live results for that day were released.

They admitted that the software used to transfer the live results to the archived results under 'History' had not handled the data properly.

This caused the app to display duplicated results, and the developer has since rewritten the code to fix the issue.

The developer also apologised for the inconvenience caused, and stated that they will continue to work to improve their software and services.

Can the same 4D number win two prizes in a single draw?

According to a 2021 HardwareZone forum thread, a question was posed as to whether the same prize-winning number has ever appeared twice in a single draw.

Most of the responses by those who claimed they monitor 4D results said the same number appearing twice in one draw has happened before, but not within the top three category.

Top image via Yeo Miang Hock on Facebook / Singapore Pools website.