THE Afrikaans language tabloid Die Son which first carried the story of Friday night's supposed R91m Powerball "win" by Stanley Philander has denied paying the deaf Parkwood man for his story, writes Nikita Sylvester on iol.co.za.
But the paper has admitted spiriting him and his family away from their home to a secret destination after the story broke.
The newspaper has also admitted that the reporter who wrote the story had made a mistake by not scrutinising the "winning" ticket more carefully.
The National Lottery Board has confirmed that Philander was not the winner, as he had claimed earlier, and that his ticket had been bought on Saturday, a day after the draw, although it contained the correct numbers.
Philander's real motive for claiming to be the winner remains unknown at this stage.
Die Son, which first carried the story of his "win" at the weekend, confirmed that they'd received a call from someone claiming to know who the winner was and had followed up.
But assistant editor Edwin Lombard insisted that they had not bought the supposed "rags-to-riches" story. "We never pay for stories," he said.
Click here to read the full report, posted on iol.co.za.
