Hong Kong Woman Seeks Justice After THB40 Million Fortune Scam
Hong Kong Woman Seeks Justice After THB40 Million Fortune Scam
BANGKOK, June 18, 2026 – A Thai-Hong Kong woman has accused a well-known Thai fortune teller of defrauding her of more than 40 million baht through years of costly spiritual rituals and ceremonies, prompting calls for a police investigation into the alleged scam.
The 47-year-old woman, identified only as Ms. Ho, sought assistance on Tuesday from consumer advocacy group Saimai Survive, saying she had been persuaded to spend millions of baht on rituals, curse removals and ceremonies that left her deeply in debt and at one point contemplating suicide.
Ms. Ho told reporters she first contacted the fortune teller through Facebook while experiencing relationship problems. After the fortune teller correctly predicted several personal events, including the later death of a relative, she came to trust the advice and continued communicating through the Line messaging application.
She said the fortune teller encouraged her to participate in so-called white magic rituals and sent her nam man phrai, or ghost oil, which she was instructed to use in ceremonies intended to restore her relationship and improve her fortunes.
According to Ms. Ho, she later experienced recurring dreams involving spirits, reinforcing her belief in the fortune teller’s claimed supernatural abilities.
She said the payments gradually escalated as she was repeatedly told additional ceremonies were needed to remove bad karma, improve her destiny and prevent illness, financial collapse or even death.
Individual rituals reportedly ranged from 70,000 baht to more than 1 million baht. Over several years, Ms Ho said she exhausted her savings, retirement funds, overseas bank loans and money borrowed from relatives and friends to continue making payments. She estimated that only 2 to 3 million baht came from her own savings, with the remainder financed through loans.
Ms. Ho also alleged the fortune teller encouraged her to borrow money from others and, on some occasions, temporarily deceive people in order to obtain additional funds for further ceremonies.
She said mounting financial pressure caused severe emotional distress and suicidal thoughts. Only after renewing her Thai identity card late last year did she begin questioning the situation, cut off contact with the fortune teller and report the matter to police.
Ms. Ho filed a complaint at Prawet Police Station but alleged that another individual who offered to help coordinate the case demanded nearly 130,000 baht in fees for documentation and follow-up services.
She said she never met the person who allegedly performed the rituals in person and instead transferred money into five separate bank accounts described as ceremonial accounts, with funds later allegedly redistributed to others.
Ekkapop Luangprasert, founder of Saimai Survive, called on authorities to examine the bank accounts, financial transactions and transfer records to determine whether fraud or public deception offences had been committed.
He also urged investigators to examine allegations that an individual claiming to be a police officer demanded payment in exchange for assistance with the case. Authorities have not yet announced any charges.
