Singapore  - A Malaysian fortune teller was sentenced to 15 months in jail by a Singapore court on Friday for fleecing a woman of 60,000 Singapore dollars (41,430 US dollars), the Straits Times reported Saturday.

Tan Ka Chuan received regular payments from Singaporean Lee Lye Fong in exchange for promises to perform rituals that would protect her family and make her wealthy.

Lee herself went through a police probe for dipping into the funds of her employer to pay for Tan's bogus promises.

Tan, 36 and a Malaysian national, used the money pay his gambling debts. He admitted to the police that he had no powers to see the future and did not perform any religious rites.

Lee's payments to Tan go back five years, said the report. (dpa)