A middle-aged Gansu civil servant who won a record 113 million yuan jackpot in a government-run lottery last week quietly picked up his winnings at an office in Lanzhou on Monday, successfully evading dozens of reporters.
The man, who bought two tickets in the Double Colour Ball welfare lottery in Jiayuguan for 72 yuan, won a total of 113 million yuan, reduced to 90 million yuan after tax, mainland media reported yesterday.
He claimed his money at the Gansu Provincial Welfare Lottery Centre's headquarters on Monday, the centre's vice-director Yu Zhenhai told the Guangzhou-based Information Times. He said the man, who is about 40, showed up at 12.30pm, when almost all the centre's staff and the reporters waiting there had gone for lunch, to avoid revealing his identity.
Amid tensions stoked by the widening wealth gap on the mainland, many millionaires keep their identities hidden for fear that they could become victims of extortion or kidnapping.
'The winner stressed that he did not want to come across any reporters and felt uneasy about media interviews,' Mr Yu said.
He dealt with the man's claim for two hours.