Lottery vendor charged after B90m falsehood exposed

Thanawat "Pete" Khamhaengpol (second left) in custody at Khok Kham police station in Samut Sakhon province on Monday. (Photo from the Facebook page of Pol Maj Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy tourist police chief)

A lottery vendor who made up a story that a customer of his had won first-prizes worth 90 million baht was arrested on Monday morning.

The arrest came shortly after Thanawat Khamhaengpol, better known as Pete, admitted that the whole story was a lie.



Mr Thanawat, who sells lottery tickets at a petrol station in Samut Sakhon, was taken to Khok Kham police station in Samut Sakhon province for further questioning, according to Thai media reports.



The vendor won praise for his honesty after he claimed that he had safely kept and delivered the tickets, which won 90 million baht, to a customer who had placed an order via a mobile chat application. The story quickly went viral.



He also posted a photo of the winning tickets, and later claimed the winning customer gave him a gift or 100,000 baht as a thank-you gesture. People turned up at the petrol station wanting to buy lottery tickets from him. Business boomed.



But the man went from hero to zero after sceptics decided to investigate and found out that the winning tickets were fabricated. Police came under pressure to take legal action against him.

"Honest Pete" now faces charges of fabricating lottery tickets and deceiving the public for personal gain. The Government Lottery Office is also expected to file a formal complaint in connection with forgery of the tickets.



Currently he is charged with violating the computer crime law for posting false information online.