TikTok astrologer arrested for predicting new earthquake

Myanmar authorities have arrested an astrologer for inflicting panic by predicting a brand new earthquake in a viral TikTok video.

John Moe The posted his prediction on 9 April, simply two weeks after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed 3,500 folks and destroyed centuries-old temples within the South East Asian nation.

He was arrested Tuesday for making “false statements with the intention of inflicting public panic”, Myanmar’s info ministry mentioned.

John Moe The had warned that an earthquake would “hit each metropolis in Myanmar” on 21 April. However specialists say earthquakes are inconceivable to foretell because of the complexity of the elements concerned in such disasters.

In his video, which bought greater than three million views, John Moe The urged folks to “take necessary issues with you and run away from buildings in the course of the shaking.”

“Folks mustn’t keep in tall buildings in the course of the day,” learn its caption.

A Yangon resident informed AFP that lots of her neighbours believed within the prediction. They refused to remain of their houses and camped exterior the day John Moe The mentioned the earthquake would occur.

His now-defunct TikTok account, which has greater than 300,000 followers, claims to make predictions primarily based on astrology and palmistry.

He was arrested throughout a raid on his residence in Sagaing, central Myanmar.

The areas of Mandalay and Sagaing have been hit particularly exhausting by the quake, which prompted a uncommon request from the Myanmar junta for international support.

The 28 March earthquake felt some 1,000km away in Bangkok, the place a constructing collapsed at a building web site, killing dozens.