As five British men wait to appear before a judge in Cambodia following their arrest for alleged ‘pornographic dancing’, new photos have emerged showing scantily-clad backpacking women at party nights.
The prisoners – who were arrested for what police describe as ‘pornographic dancing’ with young women tourists – said they are innocent and insist they do not know why they have been arrested.
Police in Siem Reap, the popular town close to the famous ancient temples of Angkor Wat in the north west of the country, said the group of five British men were aged from between 19 to 35.
As five British men wait to appear before a judge in Cambodia following their arrest for alleged ‘pornographic dancing’, new photos (pictured) have emerged showing scantily-clad backpacking women at party nights
It was expected that the fate of the five, among them Britons living in Cambodia, would learn their fate later today, although the judge could adjourn the indecency cases against them.
An expatriate website in Cambodia released the scant details and images put out by officers after the arrests.
Photos allegedly showed the men and women lying on the floor of a premises together, the men shirtless, while other young people, believed to be tourists, look on.
And today the Cambodia expatriate website, cambodiaexpatsonline.com, has published photos of western women in bikinis, while releasing details of parties that encourage tourists to join in’ close and personal’ fun.
One of the events is called Let’s Get Wet and is understood to have been held at a private villa on the outskirts of Siem Reap last Thursday.
A group of five British men are alleged to have been arrested in Cambodia for what police describe as ‘pornographic dancing’. Police released these pictures of the tourists
These are the tourists alleged to have been arrested on indecency charges in Cambodia. The group is said to include five British men, though it is unclear who each person is
Just when the photos published today by the expatriates site were taken is not clear but they portray the interaction between bikini-clad female backpackers and shirtless men.
One of the prisoners has claimed none of those arrested were in the original photographs.
The prisoner said they were at a villa party barbeque on Thursday at 4pm local time when police started to pluck people out of the crowd.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, they said: ‘We’re innocent. We don’t know why we’ve been arrested – we’re getting different stories from different people.’
They added: ‘Honestly, it was really confusing. Everyone was confused. They raided, rounded us up – there was about 80 to 100 people at this party, some of them were tourists. There were about 30 of them [police officers.]’
The prisoner said from their makeshift cell on Saturday that their families were ‘worried sick’.
‘Our parents are doing what they can. It’s really just trying to keep a good vibe until we know the outcome.’
One of the prisoners said they saw one men taken by police vomit in shock.
The group arrested confirmed their identities, including the five British men; Vincent Harley Robert Hook, 35, Daniel Richard Leeming Jones, 30, Thomas Alexander Jeffries, 22, Billy Stevens, 21, and Paul Francis Harris, 32.
Also in the arrested group of 10 tourists is Job Robertus van der Wel, from The Netherlands, 22, Canadians Jessica Drolet, of Ottawa, 25, and Eden Koazoleas, 19, of Alberta, were also arrested, along with David Nikolaus Aleksandr Ballovarre, of Oslo, Norway, 22, and Paul Martin Brasch, 32, of New Zealand.
Two of the men said to have been arrested in Cambodia. Their identities are unknown
The alleged offences took place near to the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, in the north west of Cambodia
The local authority added: ‘The competent authorities are preparing a case to submit to the provincial court.’
If the group is found guilty, they could face a year in prison and could even be detained for six months before the case even goes to trial.
They said they have been sleeping on the floor of an office at a police station in Siem Reap for three days, and emphasised they had been treated well by their captors – saying officers were friendly and had brought them pizza.
Whether actual sex took place has not been alleged.
The Foreign Office said it was assisting the five British men and were providing assistance to their families.
The photos released by police are understood to have been obtained from a witness at the scene.
Following the group’s detention and questioning at a Siem Reap police station, the eight men and two women were lined up at the entrance for a formal photo.