LONDON (AP) _ A Chinese soldier in Tibet who tried to tear off a British woman’s ″Sergeant Bilko″ T-shirt has become the first known case of someone mistaking Phil Silvers for the Dalai Lama.

As Kris Tait, 25, described the scene to British newspapers, a large crowd of Tibetans apparently agreed with him about a likeness between the late American comedian and the Tibet’s exiled god-king..

Miss Tait said she was on vacation in the town of Gyangste when a soldier on a bicycle noticed the shirt with the likeness of the character Silvers played in the 1950s television series, the Guardian reported Friday.

ADVERTISEMENT

She said he accosted her and tried to rip off the T-shirt, then a crowd of Tibetans gathered, pointing at the portrait and chanting ″Dalai Lama 3/8″

The tourist, from Seaton in southwest England, said she wrenched free, crossed her arms over her chest and fled to find a change of clothes.

Another newspaper, Today, quoted her as saying: ″I really thought the soldier was going to hurt me or lock me up. It was terrifying.″

None of the reports explained whether the incident occurred during recent anti-Chinese riots in Tibet.

Silvers was bald and the Dalai Lama has his head shaven. Ugyan Norbu, secretary of the Tibetan Society in London, said Tibetans would not have seen the TV show and would not know what the comedian looked like, the Guardian reported.

Bilko has become a cult figure in Britain because of late-night reruns of the American series by the British Broadcasting Corp. Miss Tait, an avid fan, told the Guardian: ″Looking back on it, I suppose he does look a bit like the Dalai Lama.″