'Pornographic Dancing'

Cambodia Arrests Foreigners for 'Pornographic Dancing'

10 Westerners could get a year in prison

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

This photo dated Jan. 25, 2018, issued by Cambodian National Police, shows a group of unidentified foreigners, who are accused of "dancing pornographically" at a party in Siem Reap, near the country's famed Angkor Wat temple complex.   (Cambodian National Police via AP)

(NEWSER) – Cambodian prosecutors charged 10 foreigners Sunday with producing pornographic pictures after they were arrested at a party in the town of Siem Reap, near the country's famed Angkor Wat temple complex. Police say they raided a rented villa on Thursday where the foreigners were taking part in what organizers billed as a pub crawl and found people "dancing pornographically," the AP reports. While almost 90 foreigners were detained, all but 10 were released. The 10 arrested are five British nationals, two Canadians, one Norwegian, one New Zealander, and one Dutch citizen.

A statement on the arrests posted on the National Police website Sunday included photos showing clothed young adults rolling around together on a dance floor. The prosecutor of the Siem Reap provincial court, Samrith Sokhon, says those charged face up to a year in prison if convicted. He says after producing the photos, the foreigners shared them on social media. "Any people producing pornography is contrary to Cambodia's traditions," he says. Sokhon says the detained foreigners have denied wrongdoing. The United Kingdom's Foreign Office confirmed they were in contact with British nationals in Cambodia.