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November 1 - Andrew Phoshoka, an illiterate farm worker from Tzaneen, Limpopo, has seen his luck change a number of times over the past six years. But he will finally be able to see justice done when sentencing is passed on a businessman who tried to defraud him of millions of rands in a national lottery win six years ago.
Phoshoka, who managed to scrape out a living by doing temporary odd jobs, purchased a lottery ticket in 2002.
Giving evidence in a Johannesburg court, Phoshoka told how the 51 year old businessman, Lazarus Letswala tried to bribe him with food and ice cream, before taking his lottery ticket which entitled the winner to R5 million in prize money.
Letswala, who the court described as someone who tried to "defraud a poor, illiterate man", was shown to have changed the name at the back of the lottery ticket before trying to cash it in in his own name.
Uthingo, the South African lottery operator, became suspicious when it was noticed that the names had been changed and the matter was brought before the authorities.
Letswala was charged and, after a court case that has dragged on for six years, he was finally found guilty. He will be sentenced in December.
Letswala returned the money to his victim after his arrest. Phoshoka has since used R2 million of his winnings to purchase a chicken farm and a shop, and has invested the rest. "Look out," he warned lottery buyers. "What happened to me should not happen to anyone else."
Be sure to look here at the latest National Lotto results to see if you are a winner.
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