Lottery winner in Xi'an finally awarded prize after five-year legal battle

A resident of Xi'an, Shaanxi province, has finally secured his rightful claim to a 10-million-yuan ($1.4 million) lottery prize after a nearly five-year legal battle.

Yao, a 43-year-old resident of Xi'an's Huyi district, purchased lottery tickets through a local shop owned by Wang in 2019. The purchase was facilitated via WeChat, with Yao transferring money for the tickets and receiving pictures of them afterward.

One of the purchased tickets turned out to be the winning ticket, carrying a pre-tax prize of 10 million yuan. However, the shop owner, Wang, disputed ownership, claiming the winning ticket was sent to Yao in error and belonged to another customer.

An initial attempt at resolution involved a signed settlement agreement where Wang offered Yao 150,000 yuan as compensation for the "mistake."

However, Yao later discovered through legal channels that the true winner listed on the ticket, surnamed Gao, was Wang's cousin. Gao had already received the post-tax prize money of 8.01 million yuan.

Feeling cheated, Yao initiated legal proceedings in September 2019. He filed lawsuits in various Shaanxi courts and sought police intervention on suspicion of fraud. However, police determined no criminal activity had occurred.

After a drawn-out legal battle, the Huyi District People's Court issued a first-instance judgment on Friday, ruling decisively in Yao's favor. The court recognized Yao as the rightful owner of the winning ticket and declared Gao's possession of the prize money as an infringement on Yao's rights.

The court ordered Gao to reimburse Yao the full 8.01 million yuan prize money with interest within 15 days of the judgment's execution. Additionally, Wang was held jointly liable for the payment.

While expressing some reservations, Yao conveyed overall satisfaction with the verdict. However, he anticipates an appeal from the defendants. "This legal battle has been exhausting," Yao told Shangyou News.