An ex-monk who claimed to have magical powers has been arrested for raping and prostituting underage girls at his “fortune teller house,” where he allegedly performed a variety of services for schoolgirls in the area to enhance their charm.
Police officers raided the Ajarn Natchawee fortune teller house on Puttamonthon Sai 3 Road in Bangkok’s Nong Kaem district after parents of four alleged victims – aged 13 and 14 – filed a complaint with the Anti-human Trafficking Division on June 25.
A team of officers swiftly took action and raided the premises, arresting 54-year-old Songwut Jaroenchai in front of four local female students who were awaiting him to perform a superstitious name-changing ceremony.
Police were “shocked” to find condoms, viagra, women’s clothing and sex toys scattered about the residence, the Daily News reported. The ground floor of the building was used for fortune teller services, while the second was for ritual performances and love spell casting, where police found the evidence of sexual activity, Lt. Col. Chittapob Tomeun said.
The victims who came forward on June 25 gave statements to police in the presence of their parents and psychologists that they were advised to see Songwut, who would perform a name-changing ceremony to rid them of their misfortunes. It is not uncommon in Thailand for people to change their names in order to cast off bad luck or begin anew.
However, Songwut’s intentions were far from what was expected. The victims said that they were taken to the second floor, one-at-a-time, and told to take off their clothes and lie down. They were then covered with a white cloth while Songwut chanted for the ritual and began to touch the girls in a sexual manner before raping them. He allegedly told them that this was for their good luck with money and success in their lives after the “ritual.”
The suspect later contacted the girls and asked them to come and see him again if they wanted to have some spending money. If they refused, he threatened to cast a black magic spell on their stomachs, thus scaring the young girls into visiting him again. It was on several subsequent visits, the girls say, that they were tricked into being prostituted to strangers for up to THB4,000 at a time.
Songwut initially denied the charges, bragging endlessly about his 10 years of monkhood and his magical powers as a fortuneteller from Udon Thani. He claimed that the Viagra were for his personal use, as he is old, and that the women’s clothing was from students who came to study massage with him.
However, after further interrogation, Songwut confessed to the allegations, the Bangkok Post reported. He faces rape and human trafficking charges. Having sex with underage girls – 15 years old in Thailand – constitutes statutory rape, the report noted.
