Hong Kong Police Arrest Man Suspected of Fleeing with HK$30 Million Lottery Jackpot

Hong Kong police have arrested a 36-year-old man suspected of having fled with a Mark Six jackpot worth around HK$30 million that he should have shared with 14 colleagues.

A source said on Friday that a 53-year-old man had reported to police on Wednesday that he was one of 15 colleagues who had chipped in to buy a Mark Six ticket for the draw on Saturday.

The group reportedly comprised some staff members of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD).

His colleague, a 36-year-old man, bought the ticket and held the account into which the winnings were paid, the source said.

After the ticket won, the 36-year-old refused to evenly divide the prize money among the group, which prompted a dispute, the insider said.

A meeting was held on Wednesday evening at Yip Kan Street in Aberdeen to try to resolve the dispute, but the source said the ticket-buyer allegedly insisted that he would not split the winnings during the roughly half-hour negotiation.

Worrying that the 36-year-old intended to keep the entire prize and disappear, the 53-year-old man filed a police report at 10.06pm the same day.