Police have summoned a 73-year-old man to face charges over a prophecy that Bhumibol Dam would burst on New Year’s Day, inundating Bangkok and killing many.
Thongbai Khamsi, of Chanthaburi Province, went public on the Internet last month with a prophecy allegedly made 37 years ago by his then five-year-old son, who died shortly thereafter.
Thongbai said his son, Dekchai Plaboo, predicted there would be earthquakes in many parts of the world, including Thailand, from 10pm until midnight on December 31, leading to the collapse of the dam and killing many, The Nation reported.
Police have charged Thongbai with “causing public harm” for inciting panic and influencing many to change their plans to celebrate the new year at the dam.
Despite the government’s best efforts to stem the panic, officials in Tak Province, where the dam is located, estimated a 400-million-baht loss in revenue over the holiday period.
Bhumibol Dam, on the Ping River – a tributary of the Chao Phraya – withholds a reservoir containing 13,462,000,000 cubic meters of water and would lead to widespread disaster for provinces downstream, including Bangkok, should it collapse.
Luckily for Bangkok and millions of others in the North and Central regions of Thailand, the young pseudo-prophet will not go down in history with the likes of Nostradamus – he’s more the ilk of American radio evangelist Harold Camping who first predicted the world would end on May 21, 2011, then on October 21, 2011, then on several other occasions.
The astute reader may note that the world has yet to end, and Bangkok is actually drying out. The dam stands.
Local media have been quick to point out not only their own responsibility in fueling such wild rumors, but the apparent absurdity in pursuing criminal charges against a false prophecy.
“If every single person who spread false rumors and prophesies in this country was to be prosecuted – by being either jailed or fined – then Thailand could become either a prison-land or filthy rich,” a Bangkok Post editorial read.
The columnist is referring to the seemingly endless flow of predictions, divinations and various other superstitions in Thailand – a country that sometimes seems guided by amulets, spells and prophecies.
In an Op-Ed on the Digital Journal website, a columnist asks: “If [Thongbai’s] warning had indeed turned out to prove correct, would he still deserve to be prosecuted? Or instead he would become a hero or a sort of new prophet, sorcerer, medium or visionary?”
Indeed, Thongbai claims to have been justified in believing in his son’s ability. According to him, Plaboo correctly predicted the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
To be precise, the young boy said, 37 years ago, that airplanes would crash into buildings in the next 27 years and that giant waves would kill lots of people in the next 30 years, The Nation reported.
