Just strings attached: Taiwanese fined for “lewd” swimsuit in Boracay

Authorities in Boracay on Thursday reported that it fined a Taiwanese tourist P2,500 for wearing a bikini that was “literally just a string” which immediately went viral on social media.

The foreign national was summoned to the Boracay police station after photos of her wearing a string two-piece bikini along the famous white beach of the island circulated on Facebook.

The photos that went viral caught the attention of the The Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group on Wednesday, which directed the island’s police force to call the attention of the tourist.

After she was summoned to the police station, the tourist stood firm and said that she found nothing wrong with her bikini, saying that it is “a form of expression and of feeling comfortable with her body.”

As authorities could not find an ordinance prohibiting the wearing of very skimpy swimsuits, the tourist was given a citation ticket and meted the fine based on a provision of an ordinance prohibiting the taking and display of “lewd” photographs.