Ten people arrested by Cambodian police, including a New Zealander, may be facing partying charges, rather than the initial pornography accusations.
A New Zealander arrested in Cambodia may not be facing pornography charges, it has emerged.
Paul Brasch, 33, who is understood to have been been working as a tour guide, was among 87 foreigners arrested in Siem Reap at a pub crawl entitled "Let's Get Wet" last week.
Ten were initially charged with "producing pornography" but Siem Reap governor So Platong now says they were arrested because they allegedly ignored a warning to put a stop to their parties, the Phnom Penh Post reports.
He did not remember the name of the group that had been warned after organising a pub crawl two weeks ago - there are multiple such tours on offer in the tourist hotspot - but said that they had been asked to stop the event at Pub Street.
"They advertised about their activities in the form of leaflets," he said, adding no pornographic material had been found at either event. "They did not produce pornographic pictures."
The 10 suspects' lawyer, Sourng Sophea, told the Post that the group warned two weeks ago was different from Let's Get Wet.
He noted that two of his clients had worked for the other group in the past, but said they had promised to stop working there following the warning.
Brasch and his co-accused tested negative for drugs, Reuters reported this week.
According to Stuff, Brasch is originally from Auckland and attended high school in Taupo. A former colleague said moved to Southeast Asia about five years ago.
The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing Brasch with consular assistance.
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