A fake holy man in a Sikh turban has become notorious among Bangkok’s expat community for his signature opening cry: ‘You have a lucky face!’

An impressive work ethic has made the self-proclaimed guru a frequent topic of conversation whenever expats are gathered – although few admit making any donations to his ‘temple fund‘.

‘He gave me advice about the envious rivals working to destroy me and presented me with a lucky nut. Then he offered me the option of giving either 1,000 baht, 2,000 baht or 3,000 baht,’ said Peter, a 32-year-old British teacher.

The bogus fakir employs sleight of hand to convince his targets of his sacred powers. He asked Peter to list his character traits and then promised to prove he had predicted them all.

But the fraudster failed to convince as he switched his answers for list he had originally asked Peter to clutch. As the fraudster swallowed the original paper, he left fragments of paper on his luxuriant moustache.

‘I said that I had to go and took off. But he must have some successes. Every time I tell the story, I find another person who has already met him,’ said Peter.