Thai cops exact 500-baht justice on naked tourists

Six skinny dippers walk back to their pile of clothes on in Krabi’s Ao Nang beach to get dressed. Image: Viral Press
Six skinny dippers walk back to their pile of clothes on in Krabi’s Ao Nang beach to get dressed. Image: Viral Press

They came from different continents and discovered a common purpose on a Thai beach together: getting drunk, then naked, then wet together. 

A group of foreign travelers landed in hot water this week after things got hot in the water off Krabi, where six of them decided to cut loose with a skinny dip.

Five of six tourists caught frolicking around Krabi’s Ao Nang beach in their birthday suits were summoned to the local police station Wednesday where they charged with public indecency and fined THB500 (US$16). Though six swimmers bared it all in the Monday night session, one escaped justice and public shaming by virtue of already leaving the country.

“They all admitted to their actions and accepted the charges. We explained Thai traditions and law to them, and they completely understood what they did wrong,” Krabi tourist police inspector Col. Lt. Athapong Sanchaiwut told Coconuts Bangkok Friday afternoon. He added that those involved, all between 17 and 20, were extremely drunk at the time.

Their naked swim started going viral after an unidentified witness shared video of the naked tourists preparing to get dressed after their swim in several Line chat groups. In the video, five women and one man can be seen waddling up to their pile of clothes from the ocean with their arms crossed. Several other clothed tourists can also be seen present.  

By Wednesday, the video started spreading on social media like wildfire – attracting Thai criticism wide and far and, ultimately,  police attention.

“No police were present during the incident, but it came to our attention after the video went viral in the days following. So we identified the tourists and tracked them down,” Athapong said. 

After questioning the group, police learned that the tourists hailed from Australia, Spain and Japan and had all met in Krabi. Athapong said there was nothing that could be done about the sixth perp who had already returned home. 

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