'He put his hand on my thigh': Followers make police reports against 'fengshui master' for scam, molest

At least five police reports have been made against a fengshui master for allegedly molesting, scamming and threatening his followers.

The five victims told Shin Min Daily News the man had claimed to be the apprentice of a famous fengshui master in Hong Kong and set up three shrines in Singapore, attracting numerous followers.

According to them, he had around 100 followers at his peak, with people constantly joining and quitting. About 60 to 70 per cent of them were women, most of whom were in their 20s to 40s.

A follower known as Ms Bai said the group had learnt of the fengshui master's alleged corrupt practices after communicating with one another privately. Several women also claimed they were molested.

Ms Bai said the fengshui master touched her thigh several times just a few weeks after she joined his group.

She recounted: "Once, he sat next to me on the pretext that the fan was behind me and then put his hand on my thigh. I glared at him, but he did not move his hand, so I hit his hand, pushed it away and put it on the table.

"Since then, I would try to keep a distance from him to avoid being touched."

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The fengshui master also brought up sex-related topics during one of their chats alone, said Ms Bai, adding: "He said his wife could not satisfy his sexual needs and that he had desires as a man. I was extremely uncomfortable and told him he should discuss the matter with his wife."

Another member, known as Ms Ouyang, said the fengshui master kissed her while he was drunk on multiple occasions.

A third follower, Ms Lan, said the fengshui master once touched her right leg and also tried to slap her butt.

Members splash out on rituals

The fengshui master allegedly charges new members an administrative fee from hundreds to thousands of dollars. Followers are also required to pay a monthly membership fee of $150.

He also allegedly charges varying fees depending on the ritual and situation: $388 to improve your luck, $500 for ancestral transcendence, $2,000 to adjust fengshui, and up to tens of thousands for blessings.

At least one follower has spent $100,000 on these ceremonies, reported Shin Min.

Ms Lan said she and her husband have spent around $20,000 on fengshui, transcendence membership fees since they joined the group.

Fear of repercussions

Some members further alleged they were forced to obey instructions because the fengshui master knew everyone's birth date and eight characters. Fearing that he would put a curse on them, they did not dare to defy his orders.

He also purportedly used the names of different gods to control his group and threatened that bad luck would befall them if they did not listen to their ancestors.

Several followers said the fengshui master would ask them to buy alcohol for him under various pretexts, such as on his birthday or during festivals.

One told Shin Min: "We often receive 'lists' indicating which expensive wines to buy and what cheap wines not to give him."

The members had also apparently gotten in touch with the Hong Kong fengshui master, who denied the accused was his disciple. He said the accused had only studied with him for two or three months, before getting expelled for not following rules.

According to Ms Lan, around 60 members have left in the past two weeks after the fengshui master's misdeeds came to light. Some have lodged police reports while others have chosen not to pursue the matter. However, there are still over 20 members remaining.

"At first, we sincerely wanted to learn from him. However, we later all felt that the fengshui master's behaviour has crossed a line, so we decided to quit and let the police handle it," said Ms Lan.

In response to media queries, the police confirmed that five reports were lodged and investigations are ongoing.

Reporters visited the fengshui master's home and office in the eastern region of Singapore, but no one answered the door. Messages and calls to his mobile have also gone unanswered.