Cambodia arrests foreigners for ‘pornographic singing and dancing’

Phnom Penh: Cambodia has arrested 10 foreigners for “singing and dancing pornographically”, police said today, as the kingdom cracks down on racy behaviour at popular tourist sites. The group, which could face up to a year in prison on pornography charges, was due in court this morning after police made the arrests on Thursday at a villa in Siem Reap ,the town connected to Cambodia’s famed ancient ruins of AngkorWat.

Duong Thavry, chief of the Anti-Human Trafficking andJuvenile Protection Department in Siem Reap, told AFP thatsome of those arrested were expats and others were touristswho had been in the country for several months. “We cracked down on them because they committedactivities that are against our culture,” she said. Cambodia’s national police said on its website thatauthorities had arrested six British nationals, two Canadians ,one New Zealander and one defendant whose citizenship was notidentified.

All were arrested for “singing and dancingpornographically”, the police said in the weekend post, whichshowed photos of pairs simulating various sexual positions ata party. Several people in the lewd images, however, do not appearin the group shot of the 10 defendants later posted by thepolice. Authorities said dozens of tourists were let go afterbeing informed of their inappropriate actions. Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement that it wasin contact with the British nationals arrested in Cambodia ,though it said the number was five, not six.

Tourists visiting Angkor Wat normally stay in Siem Reap ,which has a number of hotels and late-night bars and clubs. In recent years, authorities have clamped down onvisitors posting revealing images of themselves at the nearbytemple sites and in 2016, management said it would bartourists wearing skimpy clothes. The Angkor Archeological Park, a world heritage site ,contains the remains of the different capitals of the KhmerEmpire, dating from the 9th to the 15th centuries. It is Cambodia’s most popular tourist attraction ,receiving millions of visitors each year.