Cop Hunts Webmaster for 'Mimicking' His Lottery Prophecies

CHIANG MAI — A police commander and part-time lottery prophet in Chiang Mai province said he has ordered an investigation into the owner of a website who has impersonated him and offered lottery number predictions in his name.

Pol.Maj.Gen. Nitipat Pattanatabutr, commander of the Fifth Region Police, said the website falsely claims to be run by him and his father, and has been providing hints to "lucky" lottery numbers. According to Pol.Maj.Gen. Nithipat, many people have been duped by the website and bought tickets based on its predictions.

"I don't know the owner of this poser website," Pol.Maj.Gen. Nitipat said. "I don't know how this website got the numbers. I have already ordered the investigative team of the Fifth Region Police to look for clues about the website's owner. Once we find the owners, they will be prosecuted for fraud and posing as other individuals."

Pol.Maj.Gen. Nitipat is well known among devoted lottery buyers for his predictions. The police commander said he and his father, former minister and MP Preeda Pattanatabutr, "calculate" the numbers together using various divine signs and clues.

For instance, in March he predicted that the number six would feature prominently in the 1 April draw because former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yuan, who was born in 2466 B.E., had recently passed away. The first prize draw on 1 April led with the number six, which the police commander's devotees viewed as an affirmation of his prophetic skill.

Pol.Maj.Gen. Nitipat told reporters today that he will not offer predications for the next lottery round until police arrest the webmaster.

"Falsely using the name of my father has caused me great damages," Pol.Maj.Gen. Nitipat said. "I suspect that some of my subordinates are behind this. I have already reprimanded them. Anyway, on the morning of 16 July [the next round of the government lottery], I will let everyone know the lottery number that my father has calculated for me."