Phnom Penh - A fortune-teller who turned gold jewellery into tin foil to dupe villagers has been warned by police not to repeat the scam, national media reported Tuesday. Bun Srey Neang was arrested after persuading villagers in Kandal province near the capital that they should leave their jewellery in a jar with her for 15 days. She said all of their wishes would come true when they came back and opened the container.
However the Cambodia Daily newspaper reported that villagers got much less than they hoped for when they found that their jewellery, worth around 200 dollars, had been replaced with tin foil.
The district police chief said the fortune-teller had been warned that she would be arrested if she repeated her scam.
"This magic is used to cheat honest people who are uneducated, especially those who believe in magical fortune-tellers," said police chief Pa Som Eth, adding that Bun Srey Neang had since returned the jewellery to the villagers.
Cambodia is a predominantly Buddhist country, but belief in magic and the supernatural remain widespread.
