Thai families seek justice against rainbow cult for investment scam

Two Thai families are attempting to take legal action against the leader of a “rainbow cult” in the Isaan province of Sisaket for allegedly promoting explicit behaviour and operating an investment scam.

Members of two families visited Prang Ku Police Station yesterday, October 23, to file a complaint against the cult leader, accusing him of tricking their mothers into an investment scam. However, the police rejected the complaint, stating that the victims must report the crime themselves.

The two families decided to turn to news agencies to seek help for their family members before they lost more valuables to the cult leader.

The cult is known locally in the Prang Ku district of Sisaket as a “rainbow cult” because its premises feature a rainbow-coloured roof, and both the cult leader and followers typically wear rainbow clothing.

Puttimate, the son of one cult member, told ThaiRath that his mother had changed after joining the cult. She invested all of her money with the cult leader and encouraged other relatives to join. According to his mother, the cult leader told her she could earn up to 30,000 baht in gold with an investment of only 1,000 baht.

Puttimate revealed that his mother invested more than 100,000 baht in the cult and never received any profits. However, she strongly believed in the cult leader and attempted to find more money for further investment.

Another cult member’s son revealed to the media that his mother sold plots of land worth 1.3 million baht to invest with the cult leader. She later sold more land for 600,000 baht to invest further and now permanently resides at the cult premises. His mother also persuaded two friends to join the cult, and they collectively paid about 500,000 baht to the leader.

Previous arrest

In addition to the alleged investment scam and distinctive rainbow attire, the cult also explicitly spread its doctrine. One family member shared a video of explicit interactions with the media. In the video, the cult leader is heard engaging with a female follower as follows:

Cult Leader: “Do you understand?”
Woman: “Of course! I’m a graduate, you know?”
Cult Leader: “If you really understand, you must make the noise like this (makes an explicit noise similar to lovemaking or having sex with a partner).”
Woman: “I can’t do that. My husband is not home. How can I?”

The police admitted that the cult’s actions were similar to public fraud but stated they could not act unless the victims themselves filed complaints.

This cult leader was previously arrested in 2014 when he was a monk. His arrest followed a bizarre ceremony urging his followers to meditate underwater to experience pleasant scents from urine and faeces, claiming that urine and blood would turn into relics, and so on.

The leader disappeared for about two years before founding his new rainbow cult.