A 43-year-old driver from Kerala has won USD 272,260 in a mall raffle draw contest here, according to a media report on Saturday.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Abdul Salam Shanavas, who hails from Thiruvananthapuram, said, "Even if I had worked for 50 years, I wouldn't have earned anything close to this amount. I arrived here in 1997 empty-handed, but with lot of expectations. I took my driver's licence and started off as a driver in Sharjah but couldn't save much. I then moved to Abu Dhabi as a family driver and now earn Dh2,500 (USD 650)."