Hari Raya comes early for them

Both father and son looked nervously at their watches as the seconds ticked away.

But when the clock struck 9pm yesterday, the pair were all smiles.

Mr Suginin Taib accompanied his son, Mr Muhd Qaiyuum Suginin, to collect his prize at the News Centre in Toa Payoh on the final day of The New Paper Bonus Challenge.

They walked away with a cool $3,000 in hand.

Said Mr Suginin, 60, a despatch rider: "I was hoping that nobody else would come to claim the prize as that would have meant we go home with a smaller cash prize."

Fortunately for them, nobody came.

The prize was arguably the "best Hari Raya gift" for Mr Qaiyuum, 24, who had just completed his national service as an infantry instructor in Pulau Tekong.

Said Mr Qaiyuum: "I will look for a job after the Hari Raya festivities. In the meantime, the money I won will help with my family's Hari Raya expenditure and new clothes."

At about 10am yesterday, though, Mr Qaiyuum was not sure of the win.

He was half asleep when his father, who had returned from the market in Marsiling with his wife, woke him up.

In Mr Suginin's hand was yesterday's copy of The New Paper on Sunday (TNPS). At the family's Fajar Road flat, Mr Suginin, a loyal TNP reader since 1994, shared the news.

Mr Suginin said then: "Son, you've won. You've got your winning number.

"But," he added, "knowing that I like to joke a lot, my son naturally thought I was pulling a fast one. He didn't believe me."

However, when Mr Qaiyuum's mother rushed into his room and said excitedly that they had finally got the elusive number "28", that got his attention.

Mr Qaiyuum sat up in bed and demanded to see the TNPS copy that had the winning numbers.

He said: "I put my Bonus card against the page with the winning numbers. I could not believe that I won. I was so excited that I could not go back to sleep."

Yesterday's TNP Bonus Challenge draw concluded the contest, which ran for five weeks.

Thank you for participating!

I could not believe that I won. I was so excited that I could not go back to sleep.

- Mr Muhd Qaiyuum on winning in the Bonus Challenge