The examination had the form of an interview and Rev. Truong was mostly asked about his religious beliefs and credentials as a pastor. The interview was led by the director of hospital, Dr. Tho.
Several times during an earlier interview Dr. Tho had said that Rev. Truong was in the mental hospital because he had "committed a crime [and] broken the law" even though the public prosecutor confirmed that the findings of an investigation were negative and the case had been closed.
According to Rev. Truong, the interview sometimes turned into a bizarre argument between several Marxists and a lone Christian, with the conversation having nothing related to his mental health. They decided his firm Christian beliefs and his evangelistic attitude towards them qualified him as being delusional. Rev. Truong expressed that Dr. Tho acted more like a public security branch officer than a doctor.
During the series of events, one doctor from the hospital met Rev. Truong's wife on several occasions and told her that her husband in fact had no mental problems. A new medical examination was requested, but hospital authorities refused to do so, since his case involved "religion and politics."
As the case has attracted the attention of the public and the authorities, Rev. Truong has been visited by various doctors and officers regularly, but still no progress in his case has been made, since it seems the authorities refuse to make a firm decision regarding him.
The public prosecutor, who initiated the case sending him into the hospital, now says there are no criminal charges against him. Rev. Truong's long attending doctor says he has no mental condition. However, he still remains locked in hospital.
Rev. Truong was last visited by the doctor that had been seeing him on 10th June 2005, and his absence and apparant disappearance has brought about fears that something may have happened to him. Rev. Truong and his wife are worried about his safety.
A CSW source on Vietnam remarked: "Even though authorities themselves have confirmed that Pastor Truong is neither criminal nor crazy, they still incarcerate him in a mental hospital. It sounds like the Soviet Union 50 years ago."
Tina Lambert, Advocacy Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) said, "The release of this story should embarrass the Vietnamese Prime Minister, who is about to go to the US to convince America that all is well in Vietnam. At the same time, a delegation from Dong Nai Province, the location of the Bien Hoa Mental Hospital, is visiting America on a trade mission. It is time the West confronts the reality of Vietnam’s flagrant disregard for the religious freedom of her people."
