Beware those evil spirits
‘A’ and the Sai Mai Must Survive group displays some ominous objects.
A victim support group says a sham fortune-teller and his accomplice conned half a dozen victims out of 7 million baht, conducting bogus rituals to cleanse their lives of “evil forces”.
Bangkok woman, “A” (no other details given), who fell victim to the scam, contacted the “Sai Mai Must Survive” group to publicise her plight, after a complaint to Phra Khanong police last February failed to make progress.
The group said it was aware of five or six other people duped by fortune tellers “Ah Dieow”, 45, and “Mae Wang”, 31 (no other details given), who hails from Phrom Phiram district in Phitsanulok.
The woman said she met the pair at the Uma Devi shrine in Soi Pracha Uthit 90 in May 2023, where the fortune tellers co-organised an event.
A said she befriended both Ah Dieow and his close friend and confidante, Mae Wang, but she encountered most of her problems with Mae Wang, who has since admitted that he defrauded her.
She said the pair cons victims into believing they are cursed. They perform rites to remove black magic, though A said she had not noticed her life improve as a result.
After the pair performed a few rituals at her home, she started to trust them, allowing them to come and go freely.
“As our relationship developed, they started inviting me to make small merit offerings, and later claimed there were ominous objects in my home such as spirit dolls, ghost hair and coffin nails,” she said.
“When I inspected the place I found the items, but suspect now that they were planted there. They deceived me into transferring fees for nearly 100 rituals. On one occasion, I had to pay as much as 700,000 baht for a ritual.”
She also recounted cases in which she paid for rituals that were never performed.
A said she discovered another 5-6 people who had been deceived in a similar manner, including a doctor.
Some victims had pursued legal action, with the pair agreeing to pay refunds, she said. She sought help from the support group after contacting police, hoping to raise awareness.
Her revelations resulted in Mae Wang owning up to the fraud, though he says he is making amends. In remarks to the media, Mae Wang said: “I have been in the spiritual community since childhood, and everyone knows each other well.
“My readings were accurate and I developed a large following, which led to my arrogance. I started playing the lottery and spending beyond my means, which caused me to lose clients and left me with no money.
“I admit to deceiving A into performing rituals for money, but the actual amount is just 400,000 baht. I acknowledge my mistakes and have agreed to repay her 1,000 baht daily. So far, I have repaid over 90,000 baht.
“I have missed payments for six days, which might have made her unhappy, prompting her to go public.
“However, I am now offering fortune-telling for free as a form of atonement and would like to ask for a chance from society to take on work such as making ceremonial offerings and other tasks that do not involve rituals.”
As for the other fortune teller, Ah Dieow, he denied collaborating with his friend to deceive A.
He had performed rituals for A, but in cases where he was not trained for certain work recommended A consult Mae Wang instead.
Regarding the debt dispute, he acted as a witness and helped collect the debts which his friend owed A.
He learned about the saga when A called to ask if Mae Wang had any financial problems because she had spent hundreds of thousands on his rituals. Legal action would have to proceed according to the law, he admitted.
Ekaphop Leuangprasert, founder of the “Sai Mai Must Survive” webpage, said he would urge police to speed up their probe.
Beware the guy on the porch
Rangsan Maprang arrested after attacking bank staff with a machete.
A Si Sa Ket druggie mistook several uniformed bank staff for police and started stabbing one of them.
Khun Han police nabbed Rangsan Maprang, 39, at his home in Krawan subdistrict. After attacking the bank staff, one of whom was seriously injured, he started lunging at villagers with his knife, before trying to set the house on fire.
Officers used a forked stick to subdue him. His victim was Nattani-cha (no surname given), 27, an officer from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) in Khun Han, who suffered severe head injuries.
Rescue workers took her to Khun Han Hospital, where her condition stabilised. She was later referred to Si Sa Ket Hospital for further treatment.
Witness Suree, 50, said three BAAC officers had come to ask for directions to a customer’s house, which she pointed out. The officers then parked their vehicle across from the perpetrator’s house.
Rangsan was sitting outside drinking alcohol. When he saw the BAAC officers, he likely mistook them for police, she said, clapped three times, and attacked the driver’s side window with a machete, shattering it.
The BAAC officers ran for their lives to her house.
While fleeing, the victim stumbled and fell. Rangsan used the machete to strike her multiple times.
She could only scream for help and plead for him to stop. A male BAAC officer kicked the perpetrator, causing him to turn and attack the man instead, injuring him in the arm.
Suree and other villagers helped the injured woman into her house. If the male officer had not intervened, she would have been killed, Suree said.
Village head Siri Kulket said Rangsan has been suffering from a mental illness due to long-term drug abuse, and has served jail time.
He has a wife and two children but had been separated for five years as they no longer wanted to know him. His mother has died, and his father started a new family.
Ms Siri said Rangsan is usually a reclusive person who drinks and uses drugs. She had consulted the authorities about sending him for treatment and had also discussed it with his family, but they showed no interest in his plight.
She said the community lives in fear, worried such incidents could happen again. Police charged Rangsan with attempted murder, causing damage to property, and drug use, after a urine test revealed the presence of drugs.
Police are conducting a detailed interview with the victims for further legal action.
My truck’s bigger, so steer clear
The big trucks involved in the fatal stand-off.
A hot-headed 10-wheeler truck driver in Samut Sakhon stabbed to death the driver of a 6-wheeler when he cut in front of him.
The incident occurred at the entrance of Wat Kaset Phantharam in Krathum Baen district with the victim identified as Narongsak (no surname given), 39, driver of the 6-wheeler truck.
He was stabbed multiple times in the chest and left collarbone. His truck was found parked nearby, along with a pair of sandals belonging to the suspect, identified as Wasan (no surname given), 61, driver of the 10-wheeler truck.
Bua (assumed name), wife of the victim, said she and her husband were driving to pick up goods from a factory about 5am when her husband overtook the suspect’s vehicle on Bang Bon Road, Soi 5. This angered the suspect, prompting him to honk and chase after them until they reached the scene.
The suspect parked behind them, honked again and both parties got out of their vehicles to confront each other. The suspect took out a fruit knife and stabbed her husband repeatedly before fleeing. At that moment, she could only stand and watch, unable to help her husband.
At about 4pm, Wasan turned himself in at Thanyaburi station in Pathum Thani before being taken back to Samut Sakhon for questioning. He said Narongsak suddenly cut in front of him while overtaking, which infuriated him.
When he reached the scene, he honked at the victim, calling for him to come down and talk, but they could not resolve the issue, so he pulled out a knife and stabbed him, not thinking that it would result in death. Police charged him with murder and carrying a weapon in a public place.
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