Shirtless man detained in Vietnam for vandalising historic throne
The man broke an arm off the 200-year-old royal seat. He was ‘screaming, talking nonsense’ and showed signs of psychosis, officials said
The ornate red-and-gold Nguyen dynasty throne was the royal seat of the last feudal family to rule Vietnam between 1802 and 1945 and has been preserved for posterity in Hue city’s Thai Hoa Palace.
A 42-year-old man “snuck into the Nguyen dynasty display area, screamed and then broke the front left armrest” around midday on Saturday, a statement from the Hue Monuments Conservation Centre (HMCC) said on Sunday.
In footage circulating on social media and Vietnam news sites purporting to show the incident, the man can be seen sitting cross-legged on the two-century-old throne that is adorned with dragon motifs.
He was quickly arrested but showed “signs of psychosis, screaming, talking nonsense and could not answer the investigator’s questions”, the HMCC said.