Chiang Mai – Police arrested 'Ajarn Suea Ban Fon,' a renowned sorcerer with many Thai and foreign followers who seek his rituals, on charges of rape after he lured his stepdaughter into a karaoke bar and forced her to have sex, claiming it was to ward off bad luck. He denied the charges, stating that the eight methamphetamine pills found were merely collected from a trash bin outside the house.
At 11:00 a.m. on 26 May 2026, police from Hang Dong Station in Chiang Mai arrested Mr. Kamoltep Chaisri, also known as Ajarn Suea Ban Fon, age 43, along with evidence including six pistols, one homemade Thai-style air rifle, and eight methamphetamine pills, for further interrogation. Earlier that morning, police executed a warrant at his residence in Moo 2, Nong Kwai Subdistrict, Hang Dong District.
The case began when Ms. B (a pseudonym), age 41, the wife, reported that Ajarn Suea had raped her daughter, who is his stepdaughter, around January 2024. The matter came to light when Ms. B learned of it on 16 April 2026 and decided to file a complaint to have the police prosecute Ajarn Suea.
Ms. B, the wife of Ajarn Suea, said she was once his follower who consulted him for fortune-telling and holy water blessings. They arranged meetings and rituals to remove bad karma, which eventually led to a romantic relationship, living together as husband and wife for eight years.
After living together as husband and wife, she brought her 19-year-old daughter to live with them, never expecting such an incident to happen to her own daughter.
On the day of the incident, Ajarn Suea tricked the daughter into driving him to buy things, which was normal. While in the car, he told her she had bad luck and needed to remove it by having sex with him. He then directed her to enter a karaoke bar, told her to undress, and began applying gold leaf on her chest and abdomen while chanting incantations before raping her. Afterward, he threatened her not to tell anyone, warning he would kill both mother and daughter if she did. She was terrified and did not dare tell anyone. Ajarn Suea then threatened her with a gun to force her to have sex five times in total.
Ms. B said she only became suspicious during the Songkran festival because her daughter wanted to go play water, but Ajarn Suea acted jealous. She confronted her daughter until the truth came out.
At first, she did not believe her daughter, trusting in the spiritual beliefs, so she took her to swear an oath at Ban Fon Temple in front of sacred objects and Kruba Duangdee, a respected teacher whom both she and Ajarn Suea revered. Her daughter confirmed the abuse was true and said Ajarn Suea always carried a gun in his pants pocket when leaving the house to threaten her.
She kept the matter to herself because she had confronted Ajarn Suea to stop such behavior, but he refused and threatened her, claiming he knew the police and had many followers who would not believe her. He also threatened to harm and kill her if she reported him, which finally pushed her to report the case to the police to seek justice, as she herself had been oppressed for a long time.
When reporters asked Mr. Kamoltep, or Ajarn Suea, if he committed rape against his stepdaughter, he denied doing so, said he could not remember, and rejected all police allegations.
Regarding the eight methamphetamine pills found, Ajarn Suea claimed he found them outside in a trash bin in front of his house and kept them, intending to inform the village headman and police, but was arrested before he could do so.
Police Colonel Jakriyat Chotiwachirapong, Superintendent of Hang Dong Police Station, said Ajarn Suea is well known in the sorcery community, especially in spiritual circles with many followers in Thailand and abroad, often conducting ceremonies in Taiwan. He runs a tattoo studio at Ban Fon and has many followers. The arrest followed a complaint on 9 May 2026 from a rape victim, leading police to monitor his behavior and gather evidence until the Chiang Mai Provincial Court issued an arrest warrant, allowing police to search his office and detain him for prosecution.
Initially, police charged him with rape by using force and by making the victim believe he had a firearm, as well as possession of illegal drugs. Police opposed bail, fearing he might interfere with the victim.
Previously, Mr. Kamoltep, or Ajarn Suea Ban Fon, served 1 year and 8 months in prison in 2008 on drug abuse charges.