Weekly News Post #15

Cambodia Law Enforcement Arrests A Group Of Foreigners

A group of foreigners, included five British men, have been arrested in Cambodia for "singing and dancing pornographically" at a party. The other individuals in the group are all of different nationalities and are from different countries: the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, and New Zealand. The group could each face up to a year in jail individually for the act.

The Cambodian police released pictures online showing the group, amongst other people, dancing and imitating sexual positions whilst fully clothed. Serval people in the original images remain not arrested. Those who were arrested said they didn't understand why the were being held, and added that one of the men arrested vomited in shock.

According to the Guardian, an official Cambodian police statement which referenced pornography and dancing, stated "ten suspects had been charged following an investigation by the office combating human trafficking and protection of juveniles". The 10 suspects were being charged with producing "pornographic pictures and materials" said a prosecutor at the court in Siem Reap. The head of the ani-human trafficking and juvenile protection department in Siem Reap, Duong Thavry said "we cracked down on them because they committed activities that are against our culture"

Law will sometimes get involved in this sort of incident in Cambodia when people commit a mistake against the culture and tradition of the country, and it's said law enforcement in Cambodia are targeting tourist wearing bikinis in public. In September of 2017, a similar incident occurred in Cambodia where two tourists were deported after taking nude photos at one of the sacred sites inside Cambodia's Angkor complex, Preah Khan temple.

Article 39 of the Law on suppression of human trafficking and sexual exploitation (2008) states that a person who produces pornography will be punished with imprisonment ranging from 1 month to 1 year and will be fined.

The article produced by the Guardian takes an ethnocentric view on the issue and doesn't share the reasoning behind the arrests from the point of views from law enforcement in Cambodia. The article focuses on the group of people arrested story without sharing the rest of the story. This would be because the Guardian serves to present the nation with news concerning the nation and our culture without really focusing on news that has different cultures and values.

Whilst this dancing and actions may be seen as appropriate and harmless in the UK, Cambodia's culture, norms, and values are different, hence why these people are facing consequences. Personally, because I was born in the UK, this behaviour seems pretty normal, and the penalty the group faces seems harsh, but to those who were born in cultures who share the same values as Cambodia, the behaviour would be abnormal and the penalty seem fair. The group should have considered and researched the countries culture to make sure not to make such an mistake and offend a culture; after all the incident only became an issue after the photos were publicised- officials said it would not have been an issue if it was kept private.





Reference:
Topping, Alexandra. (2018). Five Britons arrested for 'pornographic dancing' in Cambodia . Available: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/28/five-britons-arrested-pornographic-dancing-cambodia. Last accessed 29th Feb 2018.