Vietnamese man denied nearly $160,000 over damaged lottery tickets

Thach Kha Mau, 41, said he bought 10 lottery tickets with the serial number, 916303, on Feb. 1. He gave away eight tickets to relatives and kept two for himself. He then went crab-catching with the tickets in his pockets, which caused them to become wet and torn, blurring the serial numbers.

One relative, who discovered a winning ticket, notified Mau that the numbers had won. The next day, the eight tickets given to relatives were successfully redeemed for a total of VND1.8 billion ($71,400) each after taxes. Mau's tickets, however, were deemed too damaged to be cashed.

Family members said Mau's mental health declined after the incident, but his relatives shared VND1 billion with him as consolation. A lottery ticket store in Tra Vinh is now helping Mau restore the original tickets for possible re-evaluation.

Le Van Thang, director of Hau Giang Lottery that issued the tickets, confirmed the company could not pay out on Mau's tickets because they were too badly damaged under current regulations.