Thailand: A gang of more than 20 Thai men ran amok at a Chiang Mai hospital late on Sunday night after they were denied access to a hospital room where 2 rival gang members were being treated, police said yesterday.

The men, who were armed with Japanese-style swords and wooden clubs, smashed equipment in the emergency room of Chang Puek Hospital after they were prevented from entering an adjacent room in the Chiang Mai hospital.

The members of the gang were looking for Thanapol Maewpa and Athit Saichonsuksri who were being treated in the hospital for cuts and bruises sustained during an earlier attack by the group, according to Lt-Colonel Patpong Khamkaew of Chang Puek police station in Chiang Mai.

Thanapol and Athit, both residents of Chiang Rai's Mae Saruay district, told the police officers that they had been attacked by the same men an hour earlier while they were riding their motorcycle.

The Chiang Mai Police were unconvinced by their claim that they had never met the gang before. Patpong said investigators believed the 2 men were part of a rival group.

Thanapol and Athit were believed to have been saved by a quick-witted hospital nurse who locked the door to their room. The nurse suffered minor cuts as she pushed herself against the door.

The assailants introduced themselves as officials who wanted to meet the two men, the nurse said. The gang left the Chiang Mai hospital on motorcycles shortly before police arrived. Hospital officials said the damage was estimated at only Bt3,000 (US$ 77).