Man buys winning ticket with toy cash

A Taiwan huckster bought winning lottery tickets with toy banknotes, made his escape and left the vendor out of pocket by a year's salary.

The man with short hair, aged between 25 and 30, visited a lottery station in the city of Kaohsiung on March 10 and 11, spending a total NT$100,000 ($3,300) in real money on tickets in two days.

The young man won a total NT$160,000, the vendor said.

Wearing a mask, the same man returned about 11 am on March 13, buying tickets worth NT$200,000.

He handed two bundles of banknotes to the vendor and she gave him four tickets in return.

Counting the notes as he exited, she discovered only the first NT$1,000 banknote was real but all the others were fake.

The female vendor then shouted at the buyer not to run, but he escaped on a motorbike with winning tickets worth NT$240,000.

The vendor lost a total NT$199,000 or about a year's earnings.

"Deducting NT$200,000, he could still get NT$40,000," the woman told local media.

"Here's hoping he will return the money."

The winning tickets can be cashed in at any lottery shop in Taiwan.