Canadians Arrested in Cambodia for ‘Pornographic Dancing’

A group of ten foreign nationals—including two Canadians—have been charged in Cambodia for creating pornographic images. The charges follow a police raid at a party on Thursday in a rented villa nearby Angkor Wat temple complex in the resort town of Siem Reap. The party was reportedly a bar crawl of sorts that foreigners were discovered “dancing pornographically” at, CityNews reports. Partiers had reportedly shared the images in question on social media.

The photos Cambodian National Police released in relation to the charges show what looks like a bunch of clothed tourists (save for a shirtless dude) mounting each other on a dancefloor.

If convicted on charges, the foreigners could face up to a year in prison, according to an Associated Press interview with Samrith Sokhon, the prosecutor of the Siem Reap provincial court in Cambodia.

“Any people producing pornography is contrary to Cambodia’s traditions,” he said.

Though about 90 foreign nationals were reportedly detained in the raid, most were released. Out of the ten who were arrested—who may have been organizers—five were British, one was Norwegian, one was from New Zealand, and another from the Netherlands.

Global Affairs Canada told CityNews that it’s providing consular services to the Canadians who’ve been arrested in Cambodia.

“Consular officials are in contact with local authorities to gather additional information,” a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said.