Teacher threatens to take lottery ticket row to court

KANCHANABURI:, A teacher who has claimed a 30-million-baht lottery win yesterday vowed to take the case to court if it is further disputed in light of new evidence that he did not buy the winning tickets.

Previously, Provincial Police Region 7 concluded that Preecha Kraikruan was the real owner of the tickets after a dispute with former policeman Jaroon Wimol who was in possession of the tickets at the time.

However, new evidence has come to light that a record of phone calls features the voice of a man said to be him denying being the winner. The recording has gone viral.

The teacher yesterday said any voice in an audio clip to be used as legal evidence must go through a verification process first.

The audio clip is a recording of a phone call in which a woman believed to be a lottery vendor asked a man if he had won the first prize and the man responded that he had not.

Mr Preecha yesterday refused to comment further on the case, insisting he would defend himself in court.

He was speaking while he was trying to avoid reporters’ questions at Thepmongkhonrangsi School in Muang district yesterday.

The man said he was confident his version of events would be seen as being the truth.

“I still insist that the winning tickets belong to me and I am not worried if someone has to go to jail in the end because the truth is always the truth and nobody can escape it,” he said.

Mr Preecha lodged a police complaint in December against Pol Lt Jaroon who was in possession of the winning tickets at the time, for embezzlement. As a result, the cash prizes were frozen pending conclusion of the probe.

A Provincial Police Region 7 investigation concluded Mr Preecha was the real owner of the tickets based on the testimony of witnesses.

On Monday, the national police chief, Pol Gen Chakthip Chaijinda, ordered regional police to transfer the case to the CSD after the probe results were met with scepticism from the public.

A police source said the regional investigators overlooked key evidence when wrapping up the probe.

The case took another turn the following day as Pol Lt Jaroon submitted an audiotape of phone calls between Mr Preecha and Ratanaporn Supathip, a female lottery vendor who allegedly sold him the tickets.