BANGKOK, THAILAND – A 47-year-old woman from Hong Kong has accused a Thai fortune teller of defrauding her of millions of baht. The woman, Ms. Ho, claims she paid over 40 million Baht over several years for occult rituals and alleged curse removal. Now completely indebted, she has sought assistance from the organization Saimai Survive and filed a police report.
The Beginning of a Financial Horror Trip
Ms. Ho’s initial contact with the fortune teller was through a Facebook page when she was experiencing relationship problems. Working for a company in Hong Kong, the 47-year-old sought advice and was quickly drawn into a spiral of fear and dependency. The communication shifted to the Line app.
The fortune teller reportedly predicted several events accurately, including the later death of a relative. This knowledge deeply affected Ms. Ho, leading her to blindly trust the fortune teller’s instructions.
Ghost Oil and Death Threats
She was sent “nam man phrai,” known as ghost oil, and instructed to perform white magic rituals to improve her luck and win back her partner. After applying the oil, she reported experiencing recurring nightmares of ghosts. The demands escalated, with the fortune teller requesting increasingly expensive ceremonies to allegedly remove bad karma. Refusal, she was told, would lead to health deterioration, financial ruin, and even death.
Rituals Exceeding One Million Baht
Payments began at 70,000 Baht for offerings and rapidly increased. Individual ceremonies cost over 1 million Baht. Ms. Ho depleted her savings, pension funds, and took out international bank loans. Only 2 to 3 million Baht of the over 40 million Baht came from her own funds; the remainder was borrowed from relatives and friends. The fortune teller allegedly even instructed her to deceive others to obtain more money.
Suicidal Thoughts and the Turning Point
The severe debt plunged Ms. Ho into profound psychological distress, and she reported having suicidal thoughts due to the unbearable financial pressure. Late last year, she renewed her Thai identification card. This bureaucratic act reportedly opened her eyes, realizing she had been manipulated for years. She then broke off contact with the fortune teller, whom she had never met in person.
Cry for Help and an Unpleasant Surprise at the Police Station
Ms. Ho reached out to the organization Saimai Survive. Its founder, Ekkapop Luangprasert, took on the case and made it public on June 17th. Subsequently, Ms. Ho filed a report at the Prawet Police Station in Bangkok. There, she encountered another distressing situation: a person claiming to be a police officer allegedly demanded nearly 130,000 Baht in fees for documents and case processing. It remains unclear whether this individual was actually a police officer.
Five Accounts and an Urgent Demand
Ms. Ho transferred the entire sum to five separate bank accounts. These were designated as ceremonial accounts before the funds were purportedly distributed to other parties. Ekkapop has urged authorities to scrutinize all financial flows from these accounts. Investigators are tasked with determining if criminal offenses such as fraud or public deception have occurred. The identity of the person who solicited money at the police station also requires urgent investigation.