5-year battle for THB30m lottery prize ends badly for ‘truth-teller’

The Supreme Court held up primary and appeal court rulings that the defendant, Pol Lt Gen Charoon Wimool, had not stolen five prize-winning tickets as alleged by the plaintiff Preecha Kraikruan. Preecha’s words “the truth is the truth” had hung over the case after being widely shared and quoted.

The Supreme Court ruling handed Charoon, a retired police officer, full ownership of the 30-million-baht prize after five years of legal battle.

Lawyer Sittha Biabungkerd, who defended Charoon in the case, said Preecha, a teacher from Kanchanaburi, would now face the consequences of his actions since Charoon had filed a countersuit.

“The 30-million-baht lottery saga is over. The Supreme Court acquitted ‘Uncle Charoon’, who won in three courts in a row,” Sittha said in a Facebook post.

“Next, Khru [Teacher] Preecha should prepare to face the consequence of his deeds.”

Charoon, his wife and Sitta were at the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court to hear the Supreme Court’s verdict on Tuesday morning.

Also in court were Preecha and the three lottery vendors who had testified that he was the ticket-buyer. All had boasted that the ruling would be in their favour. Ahead of the verdict, lottery vendor Pananchaya “Jeh Kieo” Sukpool was still insisting she had sold the tickets to Preecha, not Charoon.

“I know who I sold tickets to and I’m not worried about being countersued,” said a defiant Pananchaya.

The five tickets matched the six-digit winning number in the November 1, 2017 draw.

A few days after the draw, Charoon redeemed the tickets and Bt29.85 million was deposited in his Krung Thai bank account. He withdrew Bt5.5 million, but the remaining Bt24.35 million was frozen on November 28, 2017 after Preecha complained to Muang Kanchanaburi police that he had lost the prize-winning tickets.

The saga dragged on with Charoon unable to identify who had sold him the tickets, saying it wasn’t his regular vendor.

Adding to the confusion, Preecha’s regular lottery vendor and her vendor friends sided with him. Moreover, senior Kanchanaburi police officers allegedly sided with Preecha and reportedly attempted to persuade Charoon to split the prize money 50:50.

Initially, lawyer Sittha tried to drum up public support for Charoon by publishing audio clips of alleged conspirators “trying to steal” the winning tickets. In one clip, a woman was heard telling a man that they would collaborate to “take back” the tickets.

Sittha’s tactic whipped up more public interest, with viewers across the country glued to their TV screens for months as the battle unfolded.

The case dates back to November 3, 2017, when Preecha filed a complaint that he had lost the five winning tickets.

On November 28, the Government Lottery Office said Charoon had already redeemed the winning tickets, and invited the two disputants to negotiate. No agreement was reached.

On December 11, Charoon and lawyer Sittha filed a complaint that Preecha had given false statements about the tickets. They also complained that a senior police officer had attempted to force Charoon to share half the prize money with Preecha.

On December 14, the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) began a parallel probe into the alleged police corruption.

The Central Institute of Forensic Science then examined the tickets and found they were marked with Charoon’s fingerprints but not Preecha’s. The institute said there was too little residue left to check DNA on the tickets.

On January 31, 2018, Muang Kachanaburi police concluded that Preecha was the rightful owner of the tickets.

However, with rumours of police corruption swirling, legal rights activist Atchariya Ruangrattanpong intervened to demand that Kanchanaburi’s police chief be transferred and the case be handed to the CSD. According to the rumours, a senior Kanchanaburi police officer had attempted to broker a deal with the two lottery disputants in exchange for a cut of the prize.

On February 9, the CSD formally took over the case. The Kanchanaburi police chief and chief of Muang station were transferred to inactive posts later that month.

The CSD finally concluded there was not enough evidence to determine who owned the lottery tickets. The case was then forwarded to public prosecutors and the courts.

On March 26, 2019, proceedings were launched at Kanchanaburi Provincial Court.

On June 24, the court acquitted Charoon on charges of confiscation and theft, ruling that testimony from the plaintiff’s witnesses contradicted the forensic evidence.

That verdict was confirmed by the Appeals Court on October 20, 2020.

Tuesday’s third and final ruling brings the five-year saga to an end, leaving Charoon free to spend his prize of 30 million baht.