Facebook Fortune-Teller Arrested for Rape of Client

An online fortune-teller in Phnom Penh was arrested and accused of rape on Sunday for blackmailing a garment factory worker from Svay Rieng province into having sex with him, according to police.

Yim Saran, chief of police in Pur Senchey district, said 34-year-old fortune teller Phon Sok Eng had been chatting online for almost a month with a 23-year-old garment worker, who eventually sent him topless photographs in order to show him a birthmark under her breast, which he said portended the death of her parents.

“When he got [nude] photos of the victim, first, he threatened to post them on Facebook if she didn’t come to see him; second, he told her if you don’t come, your parents will be in danger,” Mr. Saran said.

Out of fear for her parents’ lives, and that the suspect would reveal the nude photos of her, the woman traveled to Phnom Penh on November 19 and met Mr. Sok Eng at a guesthouse the next day in Pur Senchey, according to Mr. Saran.

“When they met up, the fortune-teller raped her four to five times,” he said.

“The fortune-teller told her about bad luck, that she needs to get redemption, so they agreed to get a guesthouse room,” said Choam Chao commune police chief Teng Kosal. “She was afraid that she might lose her parents so she decided to sleep with him.”

Rape is defined in the Criminal Code as any sex act “committed against another person of either sex by violence, coercion, threat or by being opportunistic,” and is punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

Mr. Sok Eng was arrested at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday after police received complaints from the woman’s parents, leading them to work with the woman to arrange a meeting with him, said Mr. Kosal.

The woman said she was raped five times, while the suspect confessed to having sex with her twice, he said, adding that the suspect has been sent to the Pur Senchey district police station for further questioning.

[email protected]

Related Stories

Latest News