Woman finds S'pore Pools S$10,000 prize-winning 4D ticket in Loyang temple, gives it to police

A woman in Singapore found a winning lottery ticket worth S$10,000 and instead of keeping it, she handed it over to the police.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Chen (transliteration) shared that she found the lottery ticket on Feb. 3 when she went with her sister to watch the lion dance performance at Loyang Tua Pek Kong temple.

When the show ended, Chen noticed the lottery ticket on the floor, picked it up and brought it home.

A winner

Chen told the Chinese media that she had recognised the number as it won first prize a few days before, but when she looked closer, she discovered that the ticket was for the two draws on Feb. 8 and 9.

According to the ticket stub she showed, the owner placed S$2 on small and large bets on combinations 3388 and 8833.

Chen shared that if the ticket did not win, it was equivalent to waste paper and could be thrown away.

As many people were at the temple that day, Chen was unsure who the ticket owner was and decided to take it home, waiting for the prize draw.

Ultimately, the ticket Chen picked up from the temple floor won the first prize of S$10,000 in the Feb. 9 draw.

Handed over to the police

On Feb. 10, Chen reported the lost ticket to the Sengkang Police Station and surrendered it to the police.

"S$10,000 is not a small sum of money," Chen told Shin Min Daily News. "The other person must be very anxious. I hope the owner will come and claim the ticket after seeing the news."

It never crossed Chen's mind to keep the money for herself.

She told the Chinese news outlet that the money did not belong to her; she only wanted to return the ticket to its original owner.

"What's mine is mine, I do not want money that is not mine."

What happens if you find a lottery ticket on the ground?

Under the Singapore Pools' Game Rules, prize payment is presented to whoever has a valid winning ticket.

Even if a punter loses a winning ticket and lodges a police report, the agency cannot withhold prize payment to whoever presents the winning ticket.

In addition, due to Singapore Pools' strict information security standards, staff are not allowed to review or extract transaction records.

"The only time we will access the system is to comply with a Court Order or as required by the law to assist police investigation."

If you find a winning ticket, Singapore Pools' advice is to hand it over to the police:

"Anyone who dishonestly claims the prize for his or her own interest may be in violation of the law as it may be construed as dishonest misappropriation of property."

Under the Penal Code, a person found guilty of dishonest misappropriation of property could be imprisoned for up to two years, fined, or both.

Top photos via Shin Min Daily News & Loyang Tua Pek Kong/Facebook