Doctor Held Vietnam Town In Terror For Six Days

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32392, 3 September 1970, Page 5

Doctor Held Vietnam Town In Terror For Six Days

(N.Z. Press Assn. —Copyright) I NHA TRANG (South I Vietnam), Sept. 2. I Authorities in Viet-j nam are trying to piece together the strange story of Dr Ha Thue I Nhan and how he held: part of this coastal resort town in terror for! six days.

Four persons were killed, ■ three were wounded and the l ; fate of 600 patients at the! Vietnamese military hospital hung in the balance while; ' Nham and a small band of . supporters held off tanks,; armoured personnel carriers' and troops On Monday, Nham, a cap- ’ tain in the Army Medical Corps and surgeon at the hos- ' pital. tried to shoot himself; . to death, but survived, seriously wounded. Officials gave the following account: Quarrel Over Woman On August 25, a major assigned to the hospital was

shot to death on the beach, apparently because of a quarrel over a woman. Military police who arrived at the hospital to question Nham were seized by the doctor and about a dozen of the hospital staff. The M.P.s were released unharmed after being held for a period of time. Then sniping attacks against passersby started from the hospital. Two civilians were killed. Then, on Saturday, a United States serviceman, who was driving a bus to carry local

'employees to Nha Trang Air. I Base, was shot to death and two more civilians were wounded. The hospital staff destroyed 'ifour utility vehicles and two ! army trucks parked in the (compound. > There were reports that j;Nham was caring for the I patients inside the hospital •as usual, but there were • other reports of anguished cries coming from within. I Vietnamese troops were J brought into the area with (tanks and armoured personnel : carriers and cordoned it off. I Civilians were ordered off the : streets and United States [ servicemen were told by their . commanders to stay away from > the hospital. Officials decided not to use ■ force for fear of exposing; 1 the patients to danger and 'isaid that they would wait ' until Nham and his men ran • out of food. ' By Sunday, only sporadic fire was reported from the hospital and there were no - further casualties.

rj General Vu Ngoc Hoan, I head of the Vietnamese Army ; Medical Corps, flew to Nha Trang from Saigon during ■ ' to try to reason ' » with Nham. As far as is : known he did not get the chance. Officials said on Monday

that, they had regained controt of the hospital after Nham tried to kill himself. There were no details of what sort wounds he had _ , . , , , , x .. or what had ha PP ened to hts supporters or why they had helped him, the officials said.