Many people lost millions of dong because of the 'lottery drawing' game at the fair in Con Cuong

(Baonghean.vn) - Many people in Con Cuong district had their pockets stolen by people playing "prize-winning" tricks at a fair taking place in the area.

The booth organized a lottery game that caused many people in the mountainous areas to lose millions of dong. Photo: Ho Phuong

Ms. Luong Thi On, resident of Chom Lom village, Lang Khe commune (Con Cuong) reported the phenomenon of unclear "lottery games" taking place in Chi Khe commune.

The woman who lived 20 km away from the fair said that she went to the district center for personal business. She heard that there was a fair nearby so she came to see it. As soon as she entered the market, she met a woman who was selling goods there with a Northern accent, urging her to participate in a prize-winning game. The woman urged: "Go bet. Hurry (or) you won't make it!". When she arrived, someone gave her a handful of white chopstick-printed lottery cards with red dots. She counted 41 dots. She showed them to her friend who was with her to check, both had the same result (41 dots on the card). Then the person in charge of the game, a man, took back the lottery cards and told her that if she bet 500,000 VND and then checked the number of red dots on the lottery cards, if it was 41 dots, she would win 3.5 million VND. If she bet more, the prize money would be higher, according to the convention of 1 to 7.

The woman said that because she had checked carefully before and asked someone else to check for her, she was sure she would win. When the man counted the red dots printed on the lottery cards, the result was 42. She lost 500,000 VND. The 28-year-old woman said her family was poor and her children were still young. Because she did not understand the game, she lost money. Her husband also lost 500,000 VND.

Approaching the fair venue on the morning of November 1, 2017, where Ms. On reported, there was a sign that read: "Ball drawing booth to receive prizes" located at the end of the fair area. There were quite a few people surrounding the booth to "draw lots". When we arrived, the man holding the microphone announced: "If you count correctly, you will receive your prize and go home. 1 million gets 7 million". At that time, there were 2 people playing the game of drawing lots to receive prizes. The person holding the microphone asked: "Each house gets 1 million? What is the number?" A man answered: "29". The game organizer continued: "If you count correctly, 29 dots, each person gets 7 million." He counted on the lotto card and the result was 29 red dots. "So someone won the prize." - A woman shouted. The man then continued to announce: "Hey guys! Come closer and join in!"

While the game was going on, we were using our phones to record the video when the man who was standing there suddenly stopped, came out to stop us and said: “No filming, sir!… Please turn it off because this is a sensitive game”. Just a moment later, the booth was covered with a tarp.

However, not everyone is as lucky as the case we witnessed. An old woman named Huong, born in 1951, residing in Chan Nan village, Chi Khe commune, standing next to the prize-winning game booth, said she had just lost 4 million VND playing this lottery card drawing game. Before that, her son had "burned" 3 million VND on this game.

The game booth was quickly closed by the organizers after seeing our appearance. Photo: Huu Vi

Talking to Mr. Lo Hong Minh - Chairman of the People's Committee of Chi Khe commune, this person said that at noon on October 31, 2017, a local person called and cried: "Uncle, please help me." This person reported losing 3 million VND when playing the lottery card game. He then reported to the commune police and was returned 2 million VND. The remaining 1 million VND was not returned because, according to the organizer of the game, he was "greedy for 21 million VND" and spent money to play, so he had to pay.

According to the Chairman of the People's Committee of Chi Khe commune, the supervision of the activities of the commune fair has been assigned to the acting Chief of the Commune Police, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Trieu. The event organizer signed a commitment to clean up after the fair.

Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Hai Dang - Chief of Con Cuong District Police said that the unit has not yet received feedback from the people about the phenomenon of "winning games" at the fair in Chi Khe commune. At the same time, he affirmed that opening such a money-making game at a fair is not allowed. The management and security have been assigned to Chi Khe Commune Police. As for how the fair organizers coordinate with the commune authorities, the district police do not know.

According to documents from the Economic - Infrastructure Department of Con Cuong district, the fair taking place in Chi Khe commune is called "Con Cuong District Trade Fair 2017". The event is registered with the authorities in Nghe An by Xuyen Viet Trade Advertising Joint Stock Company, located at House 23, Lane 90, Hoa Bang Street, Yen Hoa Ward, Cau Giay (Hanoi). The purpose of the event is to sell and promote Vietnamese products. This fair will take place for 5 days, from October 27 to November 2.

Trade promotion fair in Con Cuong district. Photo: Ho Phuong

According to the opinions of local people, the majority of people support the event because it creates favorable conditions for people to access quality Vietnamese products at reasonable prices. However, the non-transparent "winning" games organized at the fair caused many people to lose money.

Ho Phuong - Huu Vi