Naked truth: Victims pursue legal action against ‘cancer-curing’ hermit
More victims have stepped forward to pursue legal action against a hermit and his wife in the southern province of Surat Thani, who allegedly claim they can cure cancer through naked massages. A Thai man claimed that his wife died in May as a result of the hermit’s treatment.
The first victim to seek assistance from the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (M-Society) and the police was Or, a 20 year old Thai woman. She requested officers to escort her from the hermit’s premises in Surat Thani after she could no longer tolerate the nude massages.
Or revealed to the media that the hermit, later identified as 47 year old Thavorn, and his wife, 50 year old Wipa, told her parents that she had breast and cervical cancer. Subsequently, Or’s parents forced her to attend the naked massages, claiming it was a cancer treatment.
Or tried to flee the explicit rituals and relocated to live with a friend but her parents persisted in subjecting her to the treatments. They have now disowned her following the arrest of the hermit and his wife for their controversial practices.
Subsequently, additional victims, who were deceived into undergoing nude massages and other questionable cancer treatments, have come forward to recount their experiences and pursue legal recourse against Thavorn and Wipa.
One of the victims was a 12 year old girl who was forced to attend the naked massages by her grandparents. A video of the girl screaming and resisting the explicit rituals was shared by several news agencies. She tried her best to escape but could not.
Hermit’s medicine
In another case, a Thai man came forward, accusing the hermit’s compound of causing his wife’s death from breast cancer. The man explained that his wife, who was a village health volunteer, regularly underwent health examinations.
The woman discovered a lump in her breast and received treatment at Surat Thani Hospital. However, when the hospital postponed her follow-up appointment, she experienced increased pain in her breasts and decided to try the hermit’s treatment.
She paid 100 baht for each visit to the compound and 3,000 baht for the medicine. After two months of consuming the herbal medicine from the hermit, her breasts became swollen and inflamed until she died at the end of May.
Thavorn even attended her funeral, demanding 3,000 baht from her husband, claiming it was for the medicine. The husband vowed to take legal action against Thavorn and Wipa to the fullest extent.
Channel 3 reported yesterday that the couple is currently imprisoned at Chaiya Provincial Court in Surat Thani. Their bail request has been denied.
ORIGINAL STORY: Thai woman seeks justice over hermit’s naked massage cancer cure claim
A Thai woman is seeking help after a hermit in the southern province of Surat Thani sexually assaulted her by tricking her parents into taking her to his compound for a naked massage, claiming she had breast and cervical cancer.
The 20 year old victim, identified only as Or, told a Thai news agency yesterday, July 14, that she had been sexually assaulted by the man, who claimed to be a hermit, and his wife at their compound in the Vibhavadi district in Surat Thani.
Or contacted the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (M-Society) yesterday via the department’s hotline number 1300 and asked officials to pick her up from the compound. Or was accompanied to Vibhavadi Police Station to file a complaint against the hermit and his wife.
During questioning, Or revealed to the police that her parents believed in the hermit’s supernatural powers and became followers of his a few years ago. On July 5, Or’s mother told her that the hermit predicted that she had breast and cervical cancer.
The parents asked Or to seek treatment from the hermit but she refused. Unfortunately, under pressure, she went to the hermit’s compound, where he ordered her to undress and receive an oil massage.
Or said that the hermit not only touched her body and breasts but also inserted his finger into her vagina. The hermit asked her to come to his place again and again and did the same to her.
Or went to the hospital to have her alleged cancer checked out. The health check confirmed that she was healthy and did not have cancer.
Deciding to move out of her house to live with a friend, Or was visited by her father who insisted she meet the hermit for treatment. Unable to tolerate it any longer, she sought help from the media and M-Society.
She also called for the police and government officials to investigate the hermit and his wife’s actions, revealing that similar treatments had been performed on two other girls aged only 12 and 14.
The hermit and his wife were summoned to the police station for questioning this morning, July 15. officers were planning to search their home and collect evidence soon.
