ABOUT one dozen Vietnamese were dragged ''screaming and kicking'' on to a government forced-repatriation flight this week in what was described by insiders as the worst of its kind in recent years.

The Government refused public access to watch the boarding procedure, but the South China Morning Post has confirmation that of the 54 people who boarded the flight at Kai Tak on Tuesday, about 12 had to be manhandled onto the aircraft.

The plane left after three women and a baby with American links - also scheduled to leave on the flight - were given an 11th-hour reprieve when the Government agreed to a United States request to allow them to remain in Hong Kong during the processing ofvisa applications to join their husbands in the US.