Briton held in Vietnam over priest's death
A Briton is being held by police in Vietnam in
connection with the death of a British priest.
Duc Diem Peter Dao, 63, also known as Father
Peter, was found dead in a hotel room in Hue
City on 25 January, the Foreign Office
confirmed.
The British national is believed to have
travelled from London to his home country of
Vietnam for the first time in 23 years to
celebrate new year.
Christopher Thanh Doan, another British
passport holder of Vietnamese origin, is being
detained by police, said the Foreign Office.
The 27-year-old is thought to have been
travelling with Mr Dao.
Consular assistance
A Foreign Office spokeswoman told BBC News
Online: "Consular staff are in touch with the
next of kin of the victim and the man being
held by police.
"We are providing consular assistance to the
detained man. We are liaising with Vietnamese
authorities.
"Local police are investigating the death."
The priest's body was found on the bed of a
room at the Truong Giang Hotel.
He had been stabbed in the neck several
times, a member of the hotel staff told
Associated Press.
Father Peter, whose official title was
Monsignor Duc Diem Peter Dao, was based at
the Vietnamese Catholic Church, in east
London.
He was ordained a priest in Vietnam nearly 34
years ago.
Boat people
Ten years later after his ordination he escaped
Vietnam by sea as one of the "boat people",
after making 14 attempts to leave.
He came to England as a refugee and settled
in Birmingham.
The first pastoral centre for the Vietnamese
community was established there and later
given a London base.
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols,
Archbishop of Birmingham said he was deeply
disturbed by the priest's death.
He described him as an "outstanding chaplain"
to the Vietnamese community.
The archbishop will celebrate a Requiem Mass
on 12 February at St Francis church,
Handsworth, in Birmingham.
BBC News - February 07, 2003.
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