According to sources privy to the session, Pojaman asked Warin Buawiratlert, who claims to foretell the future as a medium of the hermit deity Devarun, to reconcile her family with the junta.

"Pojaman spent one hour seeking Warin's opinions on problems confronting her family," a source said.

Pojaman did not ask Warin to read her horoscope but urged him to act as a go-between to persuade junta chief General Sonthi Boonyaratglin to mend fences with Thaksin and her family, another source said.

This source said Pojaman wanted reconciliation and forgiveness.

It was a curious coincidence that Pojaman cut short her stay in London for a meeting with Warin after the public announcement that Sonthi would be visiting Chiang Mai yesterday.

An aide to Warin said Pojaman had been a client for quite some time although Thaksin had never sought a consultation as speculated in the press.

Sonthi denied speculation that he was close to the fortune-teller, saying he was in the northern province on an inspection trip and had no plan to have his fortune told.

Warin was quoted by an assistant as saying he had provided no services to Sonthi and dismissing reports that he had predicted Sonthi would be the next prime minister.

Third Army Region commander Lt-General Jiradet Kocharat said Sonthi had been unaware that Pojaman would time her visit to coincide with his.

"There will be no Sonthi-Pojaman meeting in Chiang Mai: if they want to meet, they can do so in Bangkok," he said.

Panya Tiwsangwarn

The Nation