NONTHABURI: A 35-year-old professed shaman has confessed to charges relating to videos of him casting spells over clients' anuses and genitals, and promised to stop doing it.
Apiworasit Puangsaeng, aka Ajarn Man, acknowledged and admitted to the charges at the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau on Monday morning, CCIB chief Pol Maj Gen Chatpanthakan Khlaikhlueng said.
The native of Surin province made headlines in Thai media recently after videos of him performing rites casting spells on clients' private parts went viral.
Mr Apiworasit said the videos had been taken by staff and friends and were intended to be shared only with potential clients, to inform them of his services.
They were not intended for pornographic use, or to be made public at all, he said.
He had been casting spells over clients' anogenital areas for about a decade, and they usually came back for repeats, he said. His clients included politicians and people in show business, celebrities, he said.
Mr Apiworasit agreed that the rites were improper. He apologised for peforming them and promised to stop offering such services, and to focus his spells on other areas of the body - such as faces, arms and hands.
Pol Maj Gen Chatpanthakan said Mr Apiworasit would be initially charged with putting pornographic information into computer systems which were accessible to the public. The offence carried a maximum penalty of five years in prison and/or fine of 100,000 baht, he said.
The CCIB commander said investigators would examine other videos that might also be linked to Mr Apiworasit. There were many of them, some dated as far back as 2017.