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Online fortune teller arrested in Myanmar for predicting another earthquake

Online fortune teller arrested in Myanmar for predicting another earthquake

Provided by Nation.

“John Palmistry” was arrested at his residence in Monywa town, Sagaing Region, on Tuesday for “spreading rumors”

Myanmar authorities have arrested a popular fortune teller for predicting another massive earthquake on his TikTok account, according to a report by The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

John Moe Thae, who uses the handle “John Palmistry,” was arrested at his residence in Monywa town, Sagaing Region, on Tuesday for “spreading rumors,” the report said.

The influencer was previously held at a juvenile detention center in Mandalay for two years for allegedly receiving military training from an ethnic Karen rebel group and soliciting donations for anti-regime organizations.

His video claimed that an earthquake would occur on April 21, shaking every city in Myanmar. He urged people to gather their belongings and leave buildings during the tremors. The clip included a caption warning people to avoid staying in tall buildings during the day. The video has been viewed more than 3 million times.

However, experts say that earthquakes cannot be predicted due to the complexity of many contributing factors.

Residents in Yangon said that many of their neighbors believed the prediction and stayed outside their homes on the day John Moe predicted the earthquake would happen.

His TikTok account, which had over 300,000 followers, has since been taken down. Previously, he had posted various astrology and palmistry-based fortune-telling videos.The powerful 7.7-magnitude earthquake on March 28 caused widespread damage in Mandalay, Naypyitaw, and Sagaing, killing more than 3,700 people.

In Thailand, the tremor affected several buildings in the northern and central regions and caused the 30-story under-construction building of the State Audit Office (SAO) in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district to collapse.

As of Friday, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) reported a total of 103 victims from the incident. Of these, 60 have been confirmed dead, nine were injured, and 34 remain missing.

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AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL


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