Apparently slow and steady does not win the race, as one Hong Kong man learned the hard way.
Cheung Kwok-wah won third prize in the Mark Six lottery sometime last year, which entitled him to HKD47,140. Or at least, it should have.
However, Cheung was left empty handed as he didn’t claim his bountiful winnings within the 60-day-period specified by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Lotteries, SCMP reports.
How exactly somebody can forget that they won the lotto is beyond us, but that’s beside the point.
Last month, Cheung filed an appeal with the Small Claims Tribunal in a bid to retrieve his dosh. He argued that the Jockey Club treated him unfairly by not automatically transferring him his winnings, like they would for a gambler registered with the club.
Doing so, Cheung said, was in breach of Basic Law, which states that every person should be treated equally.
However, it appears fortune (okay, and the law) wasn’t on his side. Judge David Lok said in a written judgment yesterday that Jockey Club reserves the right to provide automated transfers to its registered gamblers, just as frequent flyer programmes are able to grant privileges to their members.
In other words, Cheung’s not getting that cash. Best of luck for next time.
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