Authorities in Can Tho Province on April 11 halted the operation of a clinic whose owner, also the only 'doctor', claims to be able to cure his patients by speaking to them.
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| Vo Tan Hung talks with his patients |
Vo Tan Hung did not have any medical or business licenses.
Hung was lecturer in Can Tho University from 1985 to 1990 before he became a shrimp farmer. He began practicing 'medicine' in January 2011, he says, after a strange dream told him that he had the power to cure illnesses.
His patients would often gather in his small cafe to listen to him talk about morality and Buddhist philosophy. The patients were not charged. "If people have a pure heart then the disease will disappear." he said.
Many of his patients suffer from chronic and serious illnesses, such as cancer and heart disease.
Pham Huu Tien, president of Cai Rang District's Traditional Medicine Association said, "I know Hung's ability to cure hasn't been proved scientifically.But a relative of mine was paralysed from the waist down, and after i introduced him to Hung he could walk after just three days."
Huynh Bao Hiep, vice head of the local Department of Health told Cong An Nhan Dan (People's Police) Newspaper that this was a particularly difficult case because his treatment did not belong to any specific category of traditional or western medicine.