NAKHON RATCHASIMA — As pundits and experts are debating what led to a mass shooting that killed 29 people in Korat over the weekend, some are seeing the works of the supernatural.
Several media agencies quoted feng shui experts as saying that it was the bad mojo in Terminal 21 Korat’s architecture that caused the tragedy, while a Facebook page said the killings were a result of an artwork that disrespect Buddhism.
In an interview with Matichon, feng shui master Chanathat Ruethaipong said the mall’s curvy appearance resembles a Chinese coffin. The mall’s observation tower also shares similar characteristics to a crematorium commonly found in Thai temples, he said.
“I’ve been to Korat and I could immediately tell that the structure is inauspicious,” Chanathat said.
Another feng shui master, Mas Khehaththam, told Daily News that the shape of the land where the mall sits resembles the shape of a knife, which he believed to be a hotspot for vengeful spirits.
A pro-Buddhist Facebook page went as far as linking the carnage with the controversial “Ultraman Buddha” paintings, which were displayed in an art exhibition at the mall last September.
The post wrote that the calamity stemmed from the mall’s decision to allow public mockery of Lord Buddha.
Blaming divine intervention in the aftermath of tragedies is nothing new in Thailand, a country infamous for its deeply rooted superstition. After a fire at Santika nightclub killed 66 people on 2009 New Year’s Day, similar discussion over the club’s unlucky architecture dominated the media.
Not everyone took the claims linking the Korat killings to feng shui or Buddhist curses at face value, however. As of Thursday, many netizens are lashing out at the media for giving platforms to superstitious claims.
“This is bullshit. What’s going to happen will eventually happen, it’s not the matter of feng shui,” user Nueng Miew commented in a Matichon news thread.
“They already opened for a long time, why you just came out after the incident happened. I’m so sick of those who like to profit out of a trend,” user Aoi Thompson wrote.