THE disabled man who staged a lone protest to stall Wednesday's forced repatriation flight from Hong Kong at Hanoi airport is seeking government funds for further treatment, saying he was crippled after a beating by police.
Tran Huu Chinh said he was forced back to Vietnam without being able to appeal against a rejection of his bid for compensation following an incident at High Island camp in 1991.
'I fear that there is no way I can live in Vietnam with my injuries,' Mr Chinh said yesterday as he waited to be sent to his home province Ha Tinh, one of Vietnam's poorest.
'I will never get a job to be able to feed myself or get treatment. My life has been ruined. There was no justice.
'I do not know what will happen to me, I have lost all contact with my family. I don't even know if my mother is still alive.' Mr Chinh yesterday appealed to British embassy officials for funds for future medical treatment.
Mr Chinh claimed that his legs were damaged for good when he was beaten after escaping from High Island camp in 1991.