A Kanchanaburi school teacher, who lied about being the owner of five first prize lottery tickets in the possession of a retired police officer, which resulted in a prolonged court battle and out-of-court drama, was sentenced to two years in prison today by Kanchanaburi provincial court.

The case dates back to November 3, 2017, when Preecha Kraikruan, a teacher at Thep Mongkol Rangsi School, filed a complaint with Kanchanaburi’s Muang district police, claiming that his five lottery tickets, number 533726, which won the First Prize in the November 1^st draw, had gone missing.

On November 28, the Government Lottery Office (GLO) reported to the Kanchanaburi police that Pol Lt Jaroon Wimon, a retired officer, had already claimed the prize money of 30 million baht from the GLO for the five tickets claimed by Preecha.

The conflict led to the involvement of Crime Suppression Division police and the Forensic Science Institution, in determining the real owner of the tickets, and the two protagonists filed lawsuits against each other.

The case filed by Preecha, accusing Jaroon of misappropriation, ran through three courts, with the Supreme Court’s ruling, read on June 7^th, 2022, acquitting Jaroon of the charges.

In the case filed by Jaroon, accusing Preecha of lying to the police about the ownership of the lottery tickets, the Kanchanaburi provincial court found today that the school teacher was guilty of perjury and sentenced him to two years.

Before the reading of the verdict, Preecha asked to change his guilty plea to not guilty, but the court denied his request, claiming it was a delay tactic to postpone the reading of the verdict.

Another case is still pending, in which Jaroon accuses ten witnesses of supporting Preecha’s ownership claim of the five winning lottery tickets.