In a story of trickery, four residents made a complaint to the police about losing 600,000 baht (equivalent to US$17,015) in a scam orchestrated by a woman posing as a spiritual medium. The fraudster convinced her victims to participate in an expensive ritual, claiming that their lives were in danger without it. To compound their losses, the scammer also promised to provide them with inexpensive cars but failed to deliver.
The victims, deceived by a 47-year-old fortune teller and part-time spiritual guide named Luek Gaew, found themselves in a state of distress. The incident was reported to the Don Yanang Police Station in Thailand’s Bueng Kan province recently.
The deception began in 2016 when Luek Gaew, who had been friends with the victims for over five years, initiated an elaborate scheme that only became apparent to the victims when it was too late. Luek Gaew operated within the tightly-knit community of Don Yanang and managed to persuade the victims that they were under a curse. She insisted that she could conduct a ceremony to rid them of this misfortune. As part of her elaborate fabrication, Luek Gaew claimed to be a vessel for a spirit guide named Pi Pia, through whom she provided predictions including the victims’ unique National Identification and bank account numbers.
Gaining their trust, Luek Gaew convinced the victims to deposit money into her account for future use, assuring them that the funds could be withdrawn immediately upon request. By 2022, Luek Gaew began organizing a religious event for the community, asserting that donations were needed to renovate figures at the local Pa Samakkhi Tham temple. Exploiting this opportunity, she convinced her victims to contribute additional funds under the guise of securing favorable deals on used cars. The total losses suffered by the victims amounted to a devastating 620,000 baht.
These subsequent transactions facilitated Luek Gaew’s true intentions, leaving the victims empty-handed without the promised vehicles or the majority of their savings. Realizing they had been deceived, the victims attempted to recover their money in mid-2021. Luek Gaew initially agreed to refund the full amount, but consistently missed deadlines. The most recent communication on July 6 offered no resolution. Ajarn Paeh, the abbot of Pa Samakkhi Tham temple, disclosed to reporters that the residents of Nong Hua Chang village, coordinated by Luek Gaew, had indeed donated a significant Buddha statue the previous year. However, he could not confirm the existence of a person named Luek Gaew within the temple premises.
Meanwhile, a 72-year-old local resident and devotee named Charom Phochan echoed the monk’s statement, acknowledging that he had heard of the Buddha statue donation but had never witnessed the alleged entity inhabiting Luek Gaew’s body. The realization of being swindled by a close friend has not only cost these four victims their money but has also shattered their trust in acquaintances and their faith.
