Mah Song fraudster jailed for 15 days

THALANG: The would-be medium who skewered a pig’s tongue instead of his own during this year’s Vegetarian Festival has served 15 days at Baan Bang Jo prison for “deceiving the public”.

Paitoon Khopwej, 27, a woodcarver from Chalong, took part in the festival as a mah song (“spirit medium”). He pretended to skewer his tongue with a sword, but in fact ran the blade through a pig’s tongue that he had put in his mouth to fool onlookers.

He told police he wanted to impress the crowds by skewering his tongue bottom-to-top with both a long, pointed sword and a sharp-tipped saw blade – but that he was too afraid of the pain.

When his deception was discovered, Paitoon was beaten by an angry mob and reported to elders at Kathu Chinese Shrine, who then filed a complaint against him with the Tung Tong Police Station.