MANILA, Philippines — The act of Filipino hikers, who were photographed baring their buttocks after climbing a mountain in Hong Kong, was indecent and illegal, an official of the Philippine consulate general said.
Consul Paul Saret of the Philippine Consulate General-Assistance to Nationals (ATN) in Hong Kong said they could have been jailed if a complaint was filed against them.
According to a report of the Hong Kong News, the group of Filipino hikers who were photographed butt naked were told by the consulate to explain why their photos spread online earlier this month.
The consulate officials reminded the group to avoid indecent acts in public.
“We told them that they could have been jailed if someone had filed a complaint with the police. What they did was illegal,” Saret said.
The group of hikers said they did this for themselves and not to cause scandal. There were other Filipinos who took pictures when some of the members took off their lower garments after climbing a popular hiking trail in Kowloon.
“We reminded them that they could be charged with indecent exposure and end up being prosecuted,” Saret said.
The hikers were told that their acts did not reflect well on the image of the more than 200,000 Filipino women who work in Hong Kong.