BBC News Online: World: Asia-Pacific

Cambodia cracks down on public sex

Phnom Penh Governor Chea Sophara said that sex in public was a disgrace and those detained would be "educated" about correct morals and made to sign statements promising not to do it again.

"It is an immoral act, especially embracing each other and having sex in public," he told the English-language Cambodia Daily.

"We only round them up to educate them not to conduct immoral activities ... If we don't crack down, in time it will get worse."

'Eyesore'

Police detained 37 teenage boys and 48 sex workers sleeping in public parks in the city last Thursday night, the newspaper reported.

Most of the boys said they had been out drinking late and had slept in the park because they were afraid to go home and face their parents, the Daily said.

But Chea Sophara called the practice an "eyesore" and said it was a threat to public order.

He vowed to continue rounding up the teenagers until they got the message.