New Taipei man attempts bank robbery to buy lotto tickets
CNA and Staff Reporter 2015-09-15 15:19
The 40-year-old man was quickly overpowered by police officers responding to the bank alarm, Sept. 14. (Photo/Tseng Po-tsun)
A man who claimed he tried to rob a bank to buy tickets for the Super Lotto that were to be drawn later Monday was arrested shortly after his heist attempt failed, police said.
The 40-year-old odd-job man, surnamed Lin, came up with the idea of robbing a bank so that he could buy Super Lotto tickets and become rich overnight by taking a part of the lottery's five-month rollover jackpot, according to a police investigation.
Lin went to the First Bank's Juifang branch in New Taipei, where he produced a knife and told the guard that he wanted to "steal NT$100,000 (US$3,000)."
When the guard ignored him, Lin went to the bank's counter and took out a NT$1,000 (US$30) note, whereupon the clerk punched the alarm bell.
At least 15 police officers responded from the Juifang police station, which is only 500 meters from the bank and overcame Lin in less than a minute. He was turned over to the Keelung Prosecutors Office on suspicion of robbery.
Before Monday, the Super Lotto's jackpot had stood at NT$2.9 billion (US$88 million) after 40 draws over a span of nearly five months failed to produce a winner — the lottery's longest-ever consecutive losing streak. That streak ended on Monday night, when Taiwan Lottery Co announced a single winner from a ticket purchased in Taipei's Shilin district had scooped the jackpot.
