Man in Hong Kong buys lottery ticket with colleagues, arrested after refusing to share $4.8m jackpot

A 36-year-old man in Hong Kong has been reportedly arrested after fleeing with jackpot winnings worth $4.84 million.

In a report by South China Morning Post (SCMP), a 53-year-old man, one of 15 colleagues who had chipped in to buy a Mark Six ticket which ended up winning the lottery, had filed a police report on Wednesday (Sept 9).

According to the 53-year-old man, the suspect, surnamed Ling, purchased the ticket with money pooled together and refused to distribute the winnings after the results were out.

The group of 15 reportedly included staff members from the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) in Hong Kong.

Sing Tao Daily said the group held a meeting to settle the matter, but Ling insisted he deserved a larger share of the prize, claiming HK$10 million (S$1.6 million) for himself while proposing the remainder be split equally among the others.

He allegedly didn't show up to work for five days and was arrested on Friday on suspicion of theft.

In response to queries from South China Morning Post, the FEHD said it noted that police were investigating the case and would cooperate with their probe.

They declined to comment further since investigations are still ongoing.

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syarifahsn@asiaone.com