Briton guilty over 'pornographic' pics in Cambodia
Daniel Jones told the court that the offending photos were not his, but he also apologised for not understanding Cambodian laws.
Tuesday 20 March 2018 07:59, UK
A British man arrested at a Cambodian pool party has been convicted of posting "pornographic" photos.
Daniel Richard Leeming Jones, 31, from Harlow in Essex, was found guilty of breaking pornography laws.
Jones was sentenced at Siem Reap Provincial Court to one month and 22 days in prison, time which has already been served.
He was one of 10 tourists arrested in January at the Let's Get Wet event in Siem Reap, a popular hub for tourists near Cambodia's famous Angkor Wat temple ruins.
About 30 officers raided the pool party at a private villa and initially accused the group of "pornographic dancing" and violating local standards of decency.
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A police website in Cambodia published photographs online which appeared to show clothed and laughing tourists demonstrating sex positions.
Jones's defence team told Sky News that the photographs were more than three years old and didn't show any of those arrested.
During the trial, the court was shown a dossier of photos from a pub crawl which prosecutors said were explicit, encouraged sexually provocative behaviour and undermined Cambodian culture.
Jones denied the charges, saying the event was unconnected to his pool party and none of the photos were his.
He insisted that there was no nudity or sex involved but apologised for offending Cambodian people.
"Now I understand in Cambodia that these pictures are not good," he told the court, adding that he did not take the photos himself.
Prosecutor Seng Samnang said any images that encourage sexual activity are illegal and against Cambodian culture.
Jones replied: "I did not understand Cambodian law. I am very sorry for that."
Before raiding the pool party, police said they had issued warnings to the organisers of other pub crawls to kerb their actions as part of a crackdown on "immoral behaviour".
The four other Britons originally detained along with Mr Jones were Vincent Harley Robert Hook, 25, Thomas Alexander Jeffries, 22, Billy Stevens, 21, and Paul Francis Harris, 32.
Authorities dropped charges against the nine other travellers in the group and ordered them to leave the country.