Soothsayer goes to work
Boy, the 16-year-old victim
“B”, who contacted activist lawyer Ronnarong Kaewpetch, chairman of the Foundation for Justice in Society, about her concerns, said the fortune teller persuaded her son to take part in bizarre rituals, including stripping naked, and had an ink tattoo put on his back.
He also persuaded her son to invest in a business, which made big losses, and buy talismans in the belief they would bring him good luck. She says he manipulated her son into selling the family’s belongings and hand over the money as fees for his readings and rituals.
Her son, known as “Boy” in news reports, kept most of this activity secret from his parents. They found out only when he broke up with his girlfriend, who said he had been duped.
Mr Ronnarong took the pair on the TV show, Hone Krasae, to air their claims. Ajarn Seree, as the fortune teller is known, also agreed to appear, despite Mr Ronnarong saying he faced legal action for his conduct.
Mr Ronnarong later took B and her son to the Crime Suppression Division to lay a complaint against Ajarn Seree, who is based in the Rama II area, for child abduction, child molestation, and fraud against the public. He may also face charges related to the mental and physical well-being of minors.
Boy said he met Ajarn Seree through a friend in his second year of high school when he was stressed about love.
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| Ronnarong Kaewpetch |
He paid 5,000 baht for his first fortune reading, when the fortune teller mentioned he had problems in love. That corresponded with his real-life situation and led him to believe in the fortune teller’s accuracy.
After that, he began to communicate with the fortune teller almost daily.
One day, the fortune teller scheduled a ritual at an apartment, instructing him to strip and apply gold to his body, including his genitals, claiming it was a way to “enhance his fortune.”
He was also advised to break up with all his girlfriends, including his then ex-girlfriend.
After getting a new girlfriend, she mentioned feeling as if someone had cast a spell on her, prompting Boy to consult the fortune teller again. He was told that “the family’s fate is doomed”.
Boy also recounted how the fortune teller had instructed him to create a doll with his parents’ names and burn it in a coffin, claiming it was a way to remedy his misfortune.
He was told to do something similar to help his ailing grandfather, who was suffering from lung cancer. The grandfather, Ajarn Seree said, would live for another 10 years; he passed away a year later.
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| Ajarn Seree, a fortune teller |
Boy ended up suffering significant losses. Ajarn Seree insisted on continuing the rituals, with Boy pawning his phone and computer to pay for them. He also took the lad to get a tattoo of an oil yantra on his back, without telling his parents.
Boy said he had never believed in superstition before and was unaware that he was being manipulated until his girlfriend broke up with him and opened his eyes to the deception.
During the time he was under Ajarn Seree’s influence, he lost a total of over 500,000 baht. The fortune teller provided him with various items, including a naga statue, a Buddha statue, and various talismans.
An academic who appeared on the show scoffed at their quality, saying they were made of plastic or nothing more than beach souvenirs.
B, the mother, said she initially had no idea Boy was secretly consulting a fortune teller or engaging in superstitious practices until her son’s girlfriend told her. She took him to see a doctor and consulted Mr Ronnarong, believing the issue had broader social implications.
Ajarn Seree, she said, played with her son’s mind, turning him from a successful, outgoing student into a young man with a depressive order who talked about taking his own life.
Speaking on the TV show, she challenged Ajarn Seree: “He used to be a good child, disciplined, and saved money, but after meeting you, he has lost everything. He has become depressed and wants to end his life. I had to take him to a psychiatrist. Do you see the problem with this child? His life is completely ruined.”
Asked how he would take responsibility, Ajarn Seree replied: “If you ask how I should be responsible, I admit I was wrong to reach out to help you. If you ask why money is involved, well, I have said before that we must believe in ourselves.”
He agreed taking money from the boy, but insisted he did not engage in any form of abuse. Police are investigating.
Mum meets the wrong man
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| Police round up suspects after a Si Sa Ket man was shot in the back. |
A Si Sa Ket man was shot in the back allegedly by the son of a local woman he was seeing, who had earlier tried to stop their relationship, to no avail.
Sitthichok, or Min (no surname given), 28, originally from Ubon Ratchathani province, was shot near an irrigation canal in Si Sa Ket’s Muang district on May 4 after falling victim to an ambush.
The victim was shot in the middle of his back with the bullet lodged inside, leaving him in critical condition. Rescue workers took him to hospital.
Pol Col Narinth Buppata, chief of Si Sa Ket Muang police, said officers had nabbed six suspects, including two women and one minor. The suspects were identified as Film (the shooter), Kong, Tu (aged 15), Tee, Priew, and Milk (no further details given).
After the attack, they went into hiding in Kantharalak district but police tracked them down.
Pol Col Narinth said Sitthichok developed a close relationship with the mother of Chatchai, or Kong, 22 (one of the suspects). Kong’s mother took good care of Sitthichok, buying him things and giving him money.
Kong tried several times to stop Sitthichok seeing his mother, but to no avail. In a fit of anger, Kong laid a plot with the Film (the alleged shooter), along with Priew (Kong’s girlfriend) and Milk (Film’s girlfriend).
They used Milk’s Facebook account to contact Sitthichok and lure him out for a meeting by the canal.
Kong arrived in a car driven by Tee, with Priew and Milk also inside. When Sitthichok arrived, he saw Kong’s group was larger and tried to escape on his motorcycle.
Coincidentally, Tu was riding a motorcycle with Film (the shooter), who cut off Sitthichok’s own motorcycle. He lost control of the vehicle and fell into a canal.
As Sitthichok tried to run away, Film allegedly shot him with a .38 calibre revolver in the back.
Police have initially charged all six suspects with attempted murder and firearms charges. The victim is recovering.
A moment to react
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| One of the six suspects being nabbed |
A teenager in Buri Ram was shot in the lung in a drive-by attack which his mother believes was a case of mistaken identity.
A group of teens were passing a sepak takraw court in their village in Huai Rat district when one pulled out a gun and shot at the boys on the court.
Nattawut, or Cartoon (no surname given), aged 17, was shot once in the chest. Relatives took him to Huai Rat Hospital before he was transferred to Buriram Regional Hospital, where reports say his condition is now stable.
Relatives of the victim said 10 teenagers from the village were playing sepak takraw and hanging out near the court, adjacent to the village road, when the attack occurred. Suddenly, two motorcycles passed by, and one teen riding on the back pulled out a gun and fired.
The victim’s mother, Pittinan, 38, said her son usually plays sepak takraw with friends in the village every evening. She suspects the assailant shot the wrong person as her son had never had any issues with anyone, she said.
Police later arrested a 16-year-old youth, one of the group involved in the attack, at a house in a neighbouring village of Nong Waeng subdistrict. They seized a homemade .38 calibre firearm along with a motorcycle without a licence plate.
The youth, “A”, admitted he and the victim were from different villages and the two groups had been in a long-standing feud for nearly two years, with the most recent flare-up occurring at New Year. A admitted to being part of the shooter’s group but claimed he did not know the victim.
Before the incident, a friend named “Mook,” aged 18, invited the group to ride motorcycles together. They went on two motorcycles with four people, passing by the sepak takraw court.
Mook, who was riding as a passenger on the front motorcycle, pulled out a gun and fired at the teenagers. Nattawut fell to the ground, injured, while the others fled.
Police identified three other teenagers involved, including the shooter, aged 14, 16, and 18. Authorities asked their guardians to bring them in for questioning and have issued summons for them.
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