Lotto lost: Man seeks justice after girlfriend makes off with jackpot

A Thai man in the eastern province of Rayong is seeking justice after his girlfriend scarpered with his 350,000 baht lottery prize, leaving him only 50,000 baht. She justified the theft by saying he never took her on holiday or to a nice restaurant.

The man took to social media to search for his girlfriend and appealed to the local Facebook news page, ZOOM Rayong, to help spread his story. He revealed to the page that he recently won a second prize worth 400,000 baht from two lottery tickets.

Due to work commitments, the man was unable to claim the prize himself. His girlfriend volunteered to collect the money, saying she could take half a day’s leave to do so. She then went to the local market in the province to claim the reward.

The man eagerly awaited his winnings throughout the day but was unable to contact his girlfriend. When he rushed home after finishing work at 5pm, he discovered that all her clothes and belongings were gone from their shared room.

He found 50,000 baht in cash and a letter from his girlfriend which read…

“We haven’t loved each other for a long time. This money, I will use for my new life. The amount I left for you, use it wisely. Don’t come to my home province, Udon Ratchathani. I won’t be returning there.”

The page administrator speculated that she might have been involved with someone else who encouraged her to steal the money and leave her boyfriend.

Gambling addiction blamed

Many netizens offered words of encouragement to the man, saying it was worth the loss to discover that his girlfriend was unfaithful and not a good match for him. Others expressed hope that he would win the 6 million baht first prize next time and find a better partner.

After the post went viral, the woman reached out to the page to clarify her side of the story.

“People condemn me for what I did but they never asked why I had to do it. Why should a woman endure a man who never took her on holiday or to a good restaurant and only spent money on online gambling? Sometimes, he even used our savings to gamble.

“I admit that he may love me but why should I stay if he couldn’t offer us a stable future? I also admit I have another man who gives me what I want. My ex-boyfriend knows well that we no longer loved each other. I simply chose what was best for myself. I lost a lot of money to him, even more than I took.”

Some netizens sympathised with her, suggesting she might need to regain what she lost and start a new life. Others argued she should have left him long ago if he wasn’t a good partner, rather than taking his money. Many urged the couple to split the money equally and resolve the matter peacefully.

The Facebook page has not yet been updated on whether the two reached an agreement. The report also did not mention whether the man took legal action against his ex-girlfriend.