Alleged ingenious Cambodian fortuneteller took 3 Thai bar women for a ride

Three Pattaya Bar Girls Victims Of Cambodian Fortune Teller Scam

May 14, 2009
Pattaya Daily News (Thailand)

On 12th May 2009 three Thai ladies claimed they had been poisoned and robbed by a female fortune teller whom they had invited back to their Pattaya apartment, in a similar fashion to a previous case reported by PDN on 9th February 2009.

As soon as Police Lieutenant Colonel Was received a report of the incident at 9.00 pm a police and rescue team rushed to room no. 11, on the third floor of Wanpen Apartment, located in Soi Gor Pai, Moo. 10, Nongprue, Banglamung.

There, the police found two ladies lying on the bed and one in the toilet. Miss Junsri Rakmitr [23] from Surin, the room owner, together with Miss Oil and Miss Porn [alias], all employees of a bar in Soi 7, Central Pattaya, were all unconscious. Two of them had been hit on the forehead with a hard object.

Police found paraphernalia connected with a religious ritual including a tray with incense, candles, flowers and a small amount of money, placed on the bed headboard. On the Buddha shelf, there was a golden baby image and three cups of a beverage which had been consumed. The room was in disarray as if someone had carried out a search.

Initially, the rescue team gave the three ladies first aid. When Miss Junsri, the room owner, woke up in a confused state, she told police that at 4.00 am, on the same day, she and her two friends were on their way home when they met a woman aged around 45 – 50, who claimed to be a Cambodian fortune teller. As the woman began to tell their fortune, they started to show interest and the woman said, if they wanted to have good luck, they would have to carry out a ritual with her in their room.

Their interest became stronger when the woman promised if they decided to go through the ritual, they would be able to find foreign husbands like many other ladies she had helped before.

Back at their room, as part of the ritual, they had to drink a cup of dark coffee each and not too long after that they felt very sleepy. They woke up again on the next day and found out that they had been robbed. The Cambodian fortune teller had made off with their property consisting of 3 mobile phones and 3 wallets containing tens of thousands of baht.

They asked for help from neighbours to report the incident to the police. They had never seen the robber before and had no idea what her name was.

The police took them to Banglamung hospital and viewed CCTV footage from the apartment which showed that the robber had spent more than one hour to carry out her crime. She took two big bags out of the victims’ room and rushed to a motor bike taxi and sped away.

Police believe that this female thief has carried out this kind of crime several times before due to the preparations and precautions she had made, such as the wearing of a face cover. However, they will continue their investigations once the three victims have recovered from their ordeal.

Whether the victims will eventually be fortunate to find the foreign husbands of their dreams remains to be seen.

'Thai government may fall in 2009' [:President of Miracle Fengshui Co.]

Mon, Dec 29, 2008
Wannapa Phetdee
Dailyxpress, ANN

Nineteen unlucky cabinet members may bring about the government's downfall through a House dissolution by the middle of next year if Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva does not reshuffle his cabinet at that time, a renowned fortune-teller has warned.

Meanwhile, another predicts that the Abhisit government will stay in power for more than a year.

"Ten out of 36 cabinet members will probably have bad fortune while nine others may find themselves in a tense situation that can lead to Parliament being dissolved near the middle of next year," says Phanuwat Phanwichartkul, president of Miracle Fengshui Company.

"So far most of them - or up to 24 members - have good luck, so the government will enjoy happiness till February 5. Only 12 have bad luck now," Phanuwat adds.

But from April to May, things are likely to change as most of the 19 will have bad luck, which can probably see a House dissolution if the premier doesn't reshuffle his cabinet. More-over, Abhisit himself will meet a hapless fate after April, when his government will encounter insoluble problems, predicts Phanuwat.

He warns the government to beware of bloodshed following protests in April, July and October if a new election is not held. "Abhisit's horoscope shows that he's clever, self-confident, quite stubborn and generous. This year is a lucky year for him, but he has to prepare well for the coming year. He should be less stubborn so that he won't fail in governing the country."

However, another famous astrologer, Astrology Academy director Kornharis Buasuang, predicts that Abhisit's government will stay in power for more than a year as the political situation will improve from September.

"If the government can pass September, I'm certain that it will be able to last the full four-year term," Kornharis says.

Phanuwat also predicts that between 2010 and 2011 politics will take on a brighter side.

Both fortune-tellers insist the political situation and economy will start getting better next year, but Thais and foreigners have to prepare for terrorism and natural disasters, especially earthquakes, in the country.

Good names and numbers

"Next year is an unlucky year for people born in the year of the goat, so they must beware of health problems, accidents and complications in running a business. Those born in the year of the cock, small snake and rat will have a good year," Phanuwat says. "Also, women whose Chinese horoscope ages end with the number 2, 5 or 8 and men whose ages end with 3, 6 or 9 should be careful next year. Add one year if you want to compare those ages with Thai ages."

Celebrities whose nicknames start with 'Y' or those known as 'Yo Yak' in the Thai alphabet are expected to experience job difficulties in 2009. But celebrities whose names start or end with S, H and L or 'Lo Chula' in the Thai alphabet will be lucky, Kornharis concludes.

Political Turmoil in Thailand Boosts Business for Astrologers

Mr. Luck Automates Fortunetelling; Some Rivals Want Industry Regulation

September 15, 2008
By JAMES HOOKWAY
The Wall Street Journal (USA)

BANGKOK -- For a glimpse into the future of fortunetelling in Thailand, pay a visit to Luck Rakhanithes.

At Mr. Luck's plush, three-story Bangkok offices, a team of telephone operators guides anxious callers through the chaos of everyday life. Some learn what their prospects are for securing a suitable love match or a well-paying job. Others are given auspicious dates for starting a new business.

At 36 years old, Mr. Luck is part of a new generation of business-savvy seers turning the ancient art of astrology into big business. He's a prime-time fixture on Thai television for waving a red flag when he is 100% certain about his predictions (a white flag goes up when he's less sure). He sells about 300,000 books a year, he says, thanks to a distribution deal with the local operator of the 7-Eleven convenience-store chain.

As Thailand comes to grips with two years of political unrest -- including a coup, deadly riots and, last week, a court ruling forcing the prime minister to step down for hosting a television cooking show -- the country has lapped up Mr. Luck's confident forecasts.

"Every time there's a crisis in Thailand, it's a glorious time for astrologers," Mr. Luck says.

It's all too much for some in the old guard, whose predictions tend to be vaguer and more in keeping with the ancient traditions of seers here. These astrologers typically don't speak in certainties, preferring instead to leave room for interpretation.

"We shouldn't give them black-and-white forecasts about what will happen in the future, no matter how appealing that might be," says Kengkard Jongchaiprah, a 70-year-old veteran of the craft. "Astrology is much more subtle than today's fortunetellers make out, but nowadays people want definite answers."

Mr. Kengkard's new rivals thrive on how readily many people in Thailand, and other parts of Southeast Asia, still turn to traditional, occult practices to help solve their problems. Hundreds of thousands of people wore yellow shirts -- Thailand's royal color -- in August to ward off a spell which they believed wizards in nearby Cambodia were preparing to cast on the country during a solar eclipse. It seemed to work: Nothing happened. (Cambodian officials deny there was any such plan.)

Phoned-In Forecasts

Astrology associations (and even some Thai banks) say many thousands of Thais consult astrologers and card readers. Leading politicians and top military leaders do it, say several leading fortunetellers, much as Nancy Reagan famously consulted astrologers to help determine President Ronald Reagan's schedule. Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's billionaire prime minister ousted in a military coup in 2006, says he frequently refers to the alignment of the stars.

Since accurately predicting that an unmarried Thai film star was pregnant a couple of years ago -- before anyone else knew it -- Mr. Luck (the name translates roughly as "the written word" in Thai) has expanded what he calls a "prediction delivery system" through an automated telephone forecast service.

Callers punch in their birth dates and select what kind of forecast they're looking for, whether it be for their love life, their jobs or their health.

Then they are redirected to the relevant prediction that Mr. Luck has recorded in his booming voice. Human operators are on standby if callers run into problems. The whole process takes about half an hour; calls cost nine baht, or 26 cents, a minute. The state-run telephone company keeps about half the $27,000 the venture earns each month. Mr. Luck shares the rest with his partners.

"Mr. Luck's my favorite fortuneteller, I like his style," says one fan, Chuanchom Plaignam, a 25-year-old entrepreneur.

"He sounds so confident on the telephone, and it's easy and convenient to call his hot line," she says. "When I call Mr. Luck, I don't have to sit down and think about my life any more. I just get on with it."

Sitting in an office surrounded by Buddha images and a handful of Barbie dolls still in their original packaging, Mr. Luck says he foresaw his own success as a fortuneteller while still a teenager. He got into the business after completing university and quickly specialized in political forecasts to help spread his name. Unlike other seers, he combines astrology with politics and economics to chart Thailand's turbulent future, flipping through tables of stock prices and government almanacs to help make his predictions.

"I like to call it 'fate management,' " Mr. Luck says, explaining that many customers are businesses hoping to gain a competitive edge.

It can be dangerous work. A small group of soldiers kidnapped Mr. Luck a decade ago for predicting the collapse of the government, he says. They dangled him above the jaws of some hungry crocodiles at a reptile farm on the outskirts of Bangkok to warn him against making dire predictions, he says. He's carried a gun ever since, and has continued making bold forecasts about Thailand's political future. Mr. Luck's story couldn't be independently verified.

Rapid Expansion

The ranks of seers like Mr. Luck have expanded so rapidly that Mr. Kengkard is pressing Thailand's astrologers, who were once supervised by the country's powerful monarchy, to introduce a code of conduct to regulate the industry. It's a radical about-face for Mr. Kengkard: He once counseled a former prime minister to deregulate the seer business, a piece of advice he now regrets.

"Before, it took years to build up a reputation as an astrologer," he gripes. "But with television and the Internet and mobile phones, it seems all you have to do is make a lucky guess to hit the big time."

Mr. Kengkard has had difficulty getting Thailand's myriad astrologer associations and institutes to agree to his plans. Many of the groups earn money by attracting students drawn by the high income successful seers earn and don't want to put them off. Kasikornbank PLC, Thailand's third-largest bank, values seers' annual takings at $74 million, based on the $15 to $20 many Thais are prepared to hand over for a reading.

"Maybe I should just give up and try to modernize," says Mr. Kengkard in his dimly lighted office as a train rattles by outside.

Mr. Luck rejects criticism that he's excessively commercializing the fortunetelling trade. "It's a business, like any other," he says. "I'm not going to sit still in my office waiting for customers."

-- Wilawan Watcharasakwet contributed to this article.