Police are hunting those behind a con trick that duped locals in Khon Kaen into buying a bogus illness cure-all.
Khon Kaen governor Somsak Jungtrakul said the so-called "power cards" were sold in Ubol Ratana district and that most buyers claimed to have bought them from sales agents for 1,500 baht per card.
The cards bore no message about their medicinal properties or ailment treatments, however, the company supplying them told locals the cards could release "power" to cure illnesses and lead to more a balanced health system, he said.
Individuals who acted as sales agents were trained by a company between June 7 and June 9. The agents bought the cards for 1,100 baht and later resold them at 1,500 baht each, the governor said.
Authorities soon discovered that what these agents say these cards can do goes beyond reality and completely misleads customers, which is in violation of the Consumer Protection Act, Mr Somsak said.
The authorities have compiled information about the case and have forwarded it to the police for further action, he said. Khon Kaen police chief Prommanattaket Hamkampai confirmed the cards cannot cure illnesses.