The two tourists were arrested late on Tuesday at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport for posing with their buttocks exposed in front of Bangkok's famous Wat Arun temple.
Two US citizens are being held in Thailand for posing with their buttocks exposed in front of a famous Buddhist temple, and posting it online. The tourists had taken the picture at Bangkok's famous Wat Arun temple, or Temple of the Dawn, and posted it on Twitter and Instagram.
According to a Reuters report, the two, identified as Joseph Dasilva, 38, and Travis Dasilva, 36, were arrested late on Tuesday at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport. They were trying to leave the country when they were arrested, a BBC report said.
The two had been on a watch-list after authorities had spotted the controversial social media post, the report said.
They were charged with public nakedness and each of them were fined 5,000 baht ($154). They are likely to be deported, authorities said.
"Once they are through with the charges, the Thai immigration police will revoke their visas and push for deportation," Deputy spokesman of the Thai immigration police, Col Choengron Rimpadee, said. "They will also be blacklisted from coming back to Thailand."
“The two American citizens have admitted taking the picture,” district police chief Jaruphat Thongkomol was quoted as saying by Reuters.
Jaruphat said the two would also be fined for a similar picture taken at another temple in Bangkok.
They were being held at an immigration detention centre while police considered a possible violation of Thailand’s Computer Crime Act, as the photograph was uploaded online, Jaruphat said.
Two US tourists posing with their buttocks exposed in front of Bangkok's famous Wat Arun temple (Image courtesy: Instagram)
The two men had an Instagram account called traveling_butts which showcased similar selfies taken at tourists sites around the world. The account had more than 14,000 followers but on Wednesday it had been deleted.
Despite its reputation for racy night life, Thailand has very strict laws on behaviour considered disrespectful and offensive to Buddhist religion. Revealing clothing in the predominantly Buddhist country is frowned upon while public nudity is considered offensive.
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