Nguyen Van Hoa, a relative of Tung spoke about the incident
Duong Van Tung, 49, from My Khanh Commune, Long Xuyen District, won the lottery on February 3.
Upon learning that he was the winner he said that he shouted for joy, causing curiosity among his children, who grappled to see the winning ticket. The ticket was torn in the melee.
Nguyen Van Hoa, a relative of Tung, said that he paid VND10,000 (USD0.47) for the ticket and was planning to use his winnings to help his family with financial difficulties.
Torn lottery ticket
Hoa added that Tung is ill and his family is living in poverty.
“Tung has no land assets and at the moment owes around VND50 million (USD2,385) in debts, which he cannot repay,” Hoa said.
The relative who accidentally tore the ticket is now a second-year student in An Giang Province. When she heard about the repricussions of the accident she wanted to quit school and go to Binh Duong Province to work towards reimbursing Tung. The family refused this offer, however.
An official from the Kien Giang provincial lottery company affirmed that they would not award Tung the prize because the torn ticket violated the company's regulations.
"I feel very bad about Tung's case," he added.