Porno Pool Party Organiser Gets Cambodian Court Hearing

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An update in the fate of the Briton who organised a pornographic pool party in Cambodia saw him apologise to the Cambodian people during his court hearing.

Daniel Jones is now facing a year in a Cambodian prison for his part in distributing what’s been described as a pornographic advertisement for a pool party being held in a Siem Reap private villa. The rest of those arrested have had their charges dropped by a Cambodian court and have now returned to their home countries.

Jones, held in prison for almost two months after his arrest in January, has admitted in court that he used images from a previous party to publicise the event. However, he told the court no sex had taken place, nor was there any nudity, adding that he’d no idea the photos breached Cambodian law and hadn’t taken the images himself. He said he’d organised four previous pool parties without any problems, following with an apology for his lack of knowledge of Cambodian laws. When shown the images he’d been accused of distributing, he said they were taken at a different event known as the Pub Crawl, which had been discontinued last November. No date has yet been given for the verdict.

Cambodia is known for its free-wheeling nightlife, but is also a strongly Buddhist country, with the world-famous Angkor Wat complex located just a few kilometres outside Siem Reap. Two years ago, local authorities banned skimpy clothing in the temple areas, and tourists have been deported for taking sexy photographs inside the sacred complex. However, nearby Siem Reap is famous with foreigners as party central, with Jones’s lawyer urging the court to consider the effect on tourism of a harsh verdict.