Two Americans are being held in a prison in Thailand for taking a nude “butt selfie” in front of a renowned Buddhist temple.
Joseph Dasilva, 38, and Travis Dasilva, 36, of San Diego, California, were arrested this week at an airport in the capital, Bangkok.
“The two American citizens have admitted taking the picture,” district police chief Jaruphat Thongkomol said.
The offending photo, taken at Bangkok’s Wat Arun, or Temple of the Dawn, was posted on the pair’s popular travel Instagram account, which followed their adventures, and bare bottoms, at famous locales all over the globe.
The account had more than 14,000 followers, but by Wednesday it had been deleted.
Travis and Joseph Dasilva admitted to baring their behinds in front of the temple and were fined $154 each for public nudity, authorities said.
"Once they are through with the charges, the Thai immigration police will revoke their visas and push for deportation," the police chief said. "They will also be blacklisted from coming back to Thailand."
People visiting Buddhist sites in Thailand are expected to dress modestly, and signs advise them to cover their shoulders and legs. Tourists are also told to not buy statues or images of Buddha as souvenirs.
In 2015, four European tourists received jail terms and fines in Malaysia for posing seminude on Mount Kinabalu, which is considered sacred.
Also in 2015, two American women were arrested, fined and deported for taking nude photographs inside Cambodia's Angkor Wat complex.
