Vietnamese police swoop after man breaks into history exhibit and damages antique throne considered to be one of the nation's most precious artefacts

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

Vietnamese police have detained a man over damage to an ancient throne which is considered one of the nation's most precious artefacts.
The man, named locally as Ho Van Phuong Tam, 42, broke into a history exhibit and damaged the antique throne, conservation officials said on Sunday.
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.
Tam '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.
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.
Local reports claim the man had purchased an entry ticket before approaching the roped-off area. He then climbed on to the throne while 'exhibiting signs of severe intoxication,' as per Vietnam News.
Tam was quickly arrested but showed 'signs of psychosis, screaming, talking nonsense and could not answer the investigator's questions', the HMCC said.
Police detained him to conduct a psychiatric assessment, it said, while the throne will be removed for repair and preservation efforts.
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
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
'This is an extremely rare incident,' the HMCC statement said.
Vietnam's ministry of culture, sports and tourism has asked for an urgent report on the incident.
The central city of Hue was established as the capital of unified Vietnam under the Nguyen dynasty.
It was recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1993 and hosts several ancient palaces, tombs and artefacts.
It comes after a vandal sparked outrage after being filmed spray painting a penis onto a wall at an ancient Peruvian UNESCO site earlier this month.
In footage, the man was seen spraying the crude graffiti on one of the original walls of Chan Chan, a pre-Columbian city 300 miles north of Lima that is flooded with thousands of visitors each month.
He wore a backpack and drew a giant black penis on the wall which is more than 600 years old and a World Heritage Site.
Peru's ministry of culture said the culprit showed 'a grave disrespect toward our history and cultural heritage, as well as a violation of the regulations that protect archaeological heritage sites.
'We express our strongest condemnation of this regrettable act of vandalism,' the ministry emphasised in its statement.
The clip of the incident made its rounds of social media, leaving viewers stunned at how he was able to damage the wall unchallenged. Others questioned why the site was not better protected.
Chan Chan was the capital of the Chimu kingdom before it fell to the Incas in the 15th century and it remains one of Peru's most important archaeological sites.
The Citadel of Chan Chan was built on an area of ​​approximately 20 square kilometers, featured ten palaces, and at its peak housed approximately 30,000 inhabitants.
It is regarded as the largest mud city in the world.
The complex features temples, residential structures, and storage buildings, any adorned with intricate and symbolic carvings.
It was recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1986 by UNESCO and that same year it was added to the list of world heritage sites in danger.