A British man facing up to a year in prison in Cambodia for allegedly posting “pornographic” images on social media to promote a pool party has apologised during a court hearing, saying he was unaware the advertisements breached an indecency law.

Daniel Jones was one of 10 arrested, including four others from the UK, in Siem Reap in January as part of a crackdown on what local authorities called “immoral behaviour” in the town. Siem Reap is a popular destination with travellers and backpackers but is also adjacent to Cambodia’s most sacred site, Angkor Wat.

They were arrested after the police raided a pool party in a private villa in Siem Reap, where they found dozens of travellers dancing and drinking in bikinis. The other foreigners arrested were all released on bail and deported, but Jones, 31, from Essex, was kept in Cambodia to face trial as he was deemed to be the organiser of the event.

Jones, who has already spent two months in prison, faces charges of producing pornography in relation to images that were put on social media to advertise the Let’s Get Wet party. Police say they had told Jones not to host the party, but that he had hired a private villa and gone ahead with it anyway. They allege that when they raided the event they found people “dancing pornographically”.

Jones apologised in court for any offence he had caused to Cambodian culture but insisted there was no nudity or sex involved in the party.

Speaking about the pictures that had been used to promote his event, Jones said he had not taken them but “now I understand in Cambodia that these pictures are not good. I did not understand Cambodian law. I am very sorry for that.”

The police had previously cracked down on the popular pub crawl events in Siem Reap after they found images of participants in sexually compromising positions which were posted publicly on social media. These pictures were shown in court, where Jones clarified they were not from an event he had organised.

Jones’s lawyer, Ouch Sopheaktra, said: “My client thinks that the pictures that were posted on social media were not unlawful, as he thought those photos were used only as advertisements. I also don’t see those photographs as basis for the court to use as the main evidence to accuse and convict him.”



No date has been set for a verdict.