A contestant on the TV quiz show The Weakest Link has been given $178,000 by TVB after being mistakenly ruled to have given the wrong answer to a question.
The blunder upset a member of the TVB show's consultation team, who described it as 'ridiculous' and threatened to quit.
Form Seven student Gary Chan Kar-ho, 19, had reached the final round of the show, broadcast on Wednesday night, when he was asked in which year East and West Germany unified.
His correct answer was 1990, but presenter Dodo Cheng Yue-ling said the year was 1989 - when the Berlin Wall came down. The error gave his opponent, Jack Soe Kin-fai, the chance to answer questions that led him to win a prize of $178,000.
Mr Chan was told by TVB of the mistake yesterday morning after a viewer complained to the newspaper Ming Pao. The station agreed to pay him the same as Mr Soe, who also kept his prize.
'It's like a dream. It just dawned on me this morning that I got the answer correct. I thought I was wrong when I said 1990,' Mr Chan said. 'I didn't mind the error because even saints make mistakes.'