False Prophecy Leads To US$13m Loss In Tourism Revenues At Tak's Bhumibol Dam

[PaulHamon]

the indiscriminate media that should be arrested for giving the guy a gram of credibility (hearers) and a platform (the media).

AGREED. They are the ones that broadcasted it, they're the public nusance.

[travelmann]

Dunno who's more patehtic the man for saying it or govt for chasing the man about it, a nation of children?

Of course its ok to tell a nation theres life after death as we all know thats fully backed up with evidence, huh

Edited January 4, 2012 by travelmann

[DocN]

sorry, but sounds pretty spot on. There was massive flooding in BKK recently as a concequence of the dam not being able to hold water as we all know.

Was not exactly 31st December........ but not far off if ti was predicted 37 yrs back

Yeah except for the date, the time and the fact that dam didn't break...everything was totally spot on!

[queanbeyan]

In another case, Paul the octopus, who was used throughout the 2010 FIFA world cup to predict the winner of matches against Germany throughout the tournament, has been summonsed to the Supreme Court of Thailand and stands accused of being unusually lucky. The British born Octopus Vulgaris, who emigated to Germany in his formative years, correctly predicted the winner of 8 matches during the tournament - a 100% record with a probability greater than 256-1. The polyp's keepers at Sea World Centre, Oberhausen, Germany have responded to the summons with a declaration that he unfortunately died on October 26th 2010 and will consequently be unable to attend. Judge Chocdee Plamukyai has received a copy of the death certificate and is considering what action to take next. "I consider it rather unusual that a death caused by shooting in head, sealing in a plastic bag and leaping out of the tank would not be recorded as a suicide as they are in Thailand."

Such a classic comment - is there a way to frame these for permanent perusal??? Classic. Seems like Aussie humour too!!

[BookMan]

Is he making these prophecy claims for financial benefit in some way? While most people take these absurd prophecy claims with a grain of salt, some believe charlatans like this man. Better if a warning is sent to all of them.

[DocN]

My TGF's sister and family all left Tak and went to Korat because of this.

The prophecy was apparently substantiated by the behaviour of turtles in the lake.

They packed their belongings and moved? The turtles???

[whybother]

My TGF's sister and family all left Tak and went to Korat because of this.

The prophecy was apparently substantiated by the behaviour of turtles in the lake.

Were the turtles getting their surfboards out for the expected ride?

[b2bme]

If the dam did break would the government then be held responsible for not listening to the prediction. Probably.

[jupiter7]

As we all know, in most of our homelands, the guy would just be simply dismissed as a lunatic and would not get any attention from even his friends, let alone the media and general public.

It's the gullible "customers" and the indiscriminate media that should be arrested for giving the guy a gram of credibility (hearers) and a platform (the media).

T.I.T.

In my country lunatics like this and their predictions are big news and some people take them seriously

In my country lunatics like this run the country

[phetaroi]

Every time over the years that I've seen something dumb happen in Thailand, and I think that it won't be topped, the Thais come through and do something even dumber. But of all the lawlessness that occurs in Thailand, that this is what the police involve themselves in...priceless.

[Pool Boy]

Follow this link to the Daily Mail

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2081219/Is-super-volcano-Laacher-See-lake-Germany-blow.html

The true idiots are the ones publishing stuff like this. Germany will most likely sue the Daily Mail for about the same amount of money which is lost to the Greece issues.

[slapout]

The police should be looking at all of the various government officials whose projected numbers have not come to the fruition/ coffers as well. For Christ sakes the old man is in his twilight years, he has expressed some opinion and is now looking at a fine or more. The Interior minister, who is in charge of police, has told more porkies in a day than they give this man credit for in a lifetime.

[lazygourmet]

555 !!!

Fortune Tellers Predict Record-Breaking Stupidity, Profits In 2012

[smotherb]

Do you think the real problem is the potential arrest of the 73 year-old?

What about the statement, 'Provincial officials said the false prediction caused a drop of 90 per cent in tourist arrivals to Tak during the holiday season, and a loss of 400 million baht (13.3 million dollars) in income.'

Do you really believe that dam earns over 444 million Thai baht a month in tourist revenue?

[huahinjoe]

Unbeleiveleable how this kind of news can reach a level of crazyness like this...

Beleive in a stupid prediction more than the engineers work? That dam stay there for decades and checked every year for sure however this im not really sure, but a dam still very strong, got dam_n...

Why on earth Thai people beleive in news such like this? This really shows their common knoweledge about engineering. Anyway, I think the media is the guilty because pick up such a nonsense news. Also those people who move out from Tak just because of this, made my laugh for today )) Jacko you must have a very high level of patience in your family So funny story...

The sad news are, there is thousands of sexpats, pedhopiles on dating sites online and hundreds of thousands of bars all around, but they can operate without any problem.

There is also a large number of law abiding citizens who come from the businessman to the government workers all around the country, this is why this country still called 3rd world place... Nothing will change in a decade, even they learn english.. Anyway they too shy to do that...

That prediction about 400m baht revenue loss another laughing matter, they should sell somtam on a scale of 1000 baht per each

I think an Amazing Thailand Blog would be very popular website all around the world where we picking up news like this, everyday have some funny story in Thailand...

[bangkokrick]

Do you think the real problem is the potential arrest of the 73 year-old?

What about the statement, 'Provincial officials said the false prediction caused a drop of 90 per cent in tourist arrivals to Tak during the holiday season, and a loss of 400 million baht (13.3 million dollars) in income.'

Do you really believe that dam earns over 444 million Thai baht a month in tourist revenue?

Yep, forget Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. The dam is where its at.

[jscorsine]

As a tourist in Thailand and a lawyer, I am sorry but I just don't see the case. There is accounting for the gullibility of some people. However, I never heard of the predicition of the dam's failure; if I had, it would not have impacted any decisions I would have made concerning the region; and, I think the overall press about flooding back a month or two ago is a greater limitation on restoration of tourism. I have not seen or heard of a real international campaign promoting Thailand after the floods. I would have expected something in the international press, like BP Oil is doing domestically for the Gulf Coast after the well failure. Commercials and print ads that proclaim Thailand is open for business. This seems a bit like scapegoating the old guy and this delusional very of this deceased son.

[MrLaoKao]

I don't know wether to laugh or cry at the the thai justice system.

Shouldn't they arrest the ashes of the poor boy 37 years back who did the prediction, not his father who just recited it?

The funny part is that they actually waited until after the new years to see if the predicion was bullocks before they acted.

[ericthai]

So much for Freedom of Speech. Pretty dam lame.

Freedom of Speech in Thailand? Guess you have not been here that long.

[dominique355]

I have no idea why people would put much stalk in such nonsense.

Please don't tell anyone about the Mayan Calendar. Heaven only knows what will happen.

I don't think heaven knows...

[Arkady]

I don't see what laws this guy has broken by publishing a bullsh*t prophecy based on something a seven year boy is claimed to have said in the early 70s. Perhaps the boy really did say it, in which case he was simply telling the truth by reporting what his son said and no one can prove otherwise. If people are stupid enough to believe such mumbo jumbo, this should be taken as a wake up call for the Ministry of Education to do something about their rotten to the core education system that churns out such gullible idiots.

Having said all of that, given the incompetentence of Thailand's Irrigation Department and the massive corruption it was noted for when the dam was built and still is today, it is probably a fairly safe bet that the dam will indeed collapse some day. In order to fine tune the timing, they may need to ditch the long dead seven year old and perhaps find the monitor lizard he was reincarnated into and rub its skin away to reveal this key date as well wining lottery numbers.

[Payboy]

This is the nation that featured Paul the Octopus in every news broadcast in July 2010.

[mouse]

So if I predict that things will get better and that tourism will increase as a result, bringing in millions of tourism dollars, then does that mean I get a grant from the government? Ok back to the news.........

[templedog]

Here's a little "conspiracy theory" to consider......Tak is a strong democratic province (Yellow) and was

under scrutiny during the flood crisis for why the water was being held up at the dam for so long and

then suddenly drained in massive amounts, hence the floods.

So, how convenient for this psychic's predicted catastrophe to cause Tak millions in tourist revenue this

holiday season. Revenge? Also, the Shinawatra's own and control an extensive amount of Thai media.

The Tak governer is outraged by this "old man" psychic and the financial damage he caused Tak,

and from what I heard while in Tak, he is behind the investigation. I also heard that many poor people

in Tak sold their land to a wealthy investor at fire sale prices for fear of being flooded and killed.

That wreaks of a conspiracy to me....if true. This is what I've heard from credible sources while there last weekend.

No, I didn't hear it from an old lady at the beauty parlor, I am talking about educated adults, some who work in the municipal government.

[Stevenredd]

Can you arrest the idiots who believed?

Uh....yeah. As if.....are there any REAL statistics as to the amount of loss sustained? Over a "prophecy"? Does anyone even use that word any more with a straight face.

sounds more like "slow news day" to me than anything else.

[anterian]

In another case, Paul the octopus, who was used throughout the 2010 FIFA world cup to predict the winner of matches against Germany throughout the tournament, has been summonsed to the Supreme Court of Thailand and stands accused of being unusually lucky. The British born Octopus Vulgaris, who emigated to Germany in his formative years, correctly predicted the winner of 8 matches during the tournament - a 100% record with a probability greater than 256-1. The polyp's keepers at Sea World Centre, Oberhausen, Germany have responded to the summons with a declaration that he unfortunately died on October 26th 2010 and will consequently be unable to attend. Judge Chocdee Plamukyai has received a copy of the death certificate and is considering what action to take next. "I consider it rather unusual that a death caused by shooting in head, sealing in a plastic bag and leaping out of the tank would not be recorded as a suicide as they are in Thailand."

Excellent!

[templedog]

Do you think the real problem is the potential arrest of the 73 year-old?

What about the statement, 'Provincial officials said the false prediction caused a drop of 90 per cent in tourist arrivals to Tak during the holiday season, and a loss of 400 million baht (13.3 million dollars) in income.'

Do you really believe that dam earns over 444 million Thai baht a month in tourist revenue?

Yep, forget Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya. The dam is where its at.

For sure not that much money was lost (exagerated for a libel case), but they meant the whole province of Tak lost money as people visit Tak not just for the dam.

[garvin123g]

Thai police summon soothsayer for false prophecy

Thongbai last month informed local media of a prophecy made by his son, a purported 5-year-old psychic, that the Bhumibol Dam would burst on December 31, 2011.

It did not.

-- Agencies 2011-01-04

Wow.. Ao I guess all would have been fine if the Dam HAD broken 5555 Just too funny to comment on.. TiT

[h1lander]

I have no idea why people would put much stalk in such nonsense.

Please don't tell anyone about the Mayan Calendar. Heaven only knows what will happen.

Too late!! My wife asked me if I believe in the Mayan calendar! We're all doomed!

[Moruya]

I have no idea why people would put much stalk in such nonsense.

Please don't tell anyone about the Mayan Calendar. Heaven only knows what will happen.

Too late!! My wife asked me if I believe in the Mayan calendar! We're all doomed!

No mate. We're all dead.

This must be heaven. We have passed St. Peter at the Pearly Gates and here we are virtualised in Thai Visa. Not a virgin in sight.