My Take | Fortune tellers should see it all coming

One thing that you can safely predict about fortune tellers is they will step up to the plate whenever there is a chance to garner media attention. No sooner had the royal baby appeared in London than they were out with their take on the future king of England.

You can be assured that local practitioners of fung shui have it all sewn up. They predict the newborn will, in future, go overseas, maybe with the army, or to some boarding school. He will be a big hit with the ladies and find a romantic relationship abroad. How do they know all this stuff?

A cleverer mystic in India has ruled that the new prince will one day get voted into office. This shrewd master with a far-reaching vision must have seen that the line of successors was getting crowded and sooner or later some palace officials will have to draw lots to pick one before some squabble breaks out. Very clever.

What confounds one is the ease with which these fortune tellers see the future of others but find it very difficult to see trouble coming their way. It was not too long ago we were kept riveted by one such master's battle in the courts. Unfortunately, Peter Chan Chun-chuen failed to see the signs early and ended up behind bars in a place which, by all accounts, does not have good fung shui.

Across the border, another self-proclaimed master is under the spotlight after he threatened a journalist and his family with death for questioning his powers. Wang Lin, master of a spiritual martial art in Jiangxi , produces snakes from thin air with a wave of his hand. The report said he was spotted buying snakes from the market. The man of fortunes, whose fame grew after being photographed with famous people like tycoon Jack Ma, is now trying to wriggle out of the spotlight, especially after a report that he has a five-storey villa, a Rolls-Royce and three Hummers.

Self-protection is something these lot should concentrate on more. A few years back a Thai guru who proclaimed the life-saving powers of tantric tattoos was a big hit in the media there. Covered from head to toe, including his tongue, by an assortment of "powerful" tattoos, he swore by their power. Even a bullet could not kill him, he boasted. His only wish? That the tattoos would stop mosquitos biting him.