And finally…Chinese chancer attempts divorce before collecting lottery win

Chinese LotteryIn a nation where lottery winners are so fearful of security risks and demands from family and friends that they dress up in masks and costumes to claim their cheques, one chinese man who scooped 4.6 million yuan (£500,000) has attempted to divorce his wife the day before claiming the money.

Liu Xiang, who was having an affair at the time of this win, received the prize money on February 26, one day after he divorced his wife, China.org reported.

Discovering that the ticket was bought before their divorce, his wife took him to court.

After Mr Liu realised he’d struck it lucky, he called his estranged wife, Yuan Li, and demanded a divorce, offering to pay off their £35,000 debts, while failing to mention his windfall.



She returned a week later to his home town near Chongqing city in the southwest of the country and signed the divorce papers to end their 16-year marriage.

The next morning, Mr Liu rushed to collect his winnings.

His former wife, who used to run a lottery ticket outlet, learned of her ex-husband’s good fortune when a friend, unaware of their split, phoned to congratulate the pair, the Chongqing Morning Post reported.

Mr Liu later told Chongqing TV it was a coincidence that he collected the money the day after his divorce. The station helped his ex-wife to get legal advice and she sued for half.

But a has now court ordered Mr Liu to pay his ex-wife a quarter share, about £120,000, after accepting his claim that his mother had bought the ticket. This was despite the couple’s daughter, a middle-school student, testifying that her grandmother rarely played the lottery and her father had entered the same numbers for years.

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