Officials overseeing the state lottery in the communist nation of Laos are rigging the system by changing winning numbers and allowing private business interests with close connections to government leaders to profit from the scam, sources in the country tell RFA’s Lao Service. In one case this year, the number 509 appeared as 134 on tickets purchased throughout the day of Oct. 14, then was changed to 662 minutes before the drawing. The office of prime minister Thongloun Sisoulith recently sent a directive requesting the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the legal state lottery, to investigate and take corrective measures to manage the problem, according to a source.