Boyfriend of Taiwanese tourist in skimpy 'bikini' pleads for netizens to stop sharing her photos

A pair of strings took the internet by storm last week after a Taiwanese tourist in Boracay was fined 2,500 pesos (S$67) for walking around in a bikini considered overly skimpy for the locals' liking.

The incident spurred a massive dog hunt for the elusive "lewd" photos, many of which were shared without censoring the girl's face or body. As a result, her identity has since been compromised and her daily life affected, reported Apple Daily.

Her boyfriend spoke out in a message sent to the Taiwanese publication on Tuesday (Oct 15), seeking to clarify details of the incident while accusing local media of false reporting and doxxing. 

According to him, his girlfriend never claimed to regularly wear such bikinis in Taiwan.

The content of his message revealed that the two first spotted the revealing bikini on sale when they arrived in Boracay on Oct 9. He had then proposed a bet that should his girlfriend lose, she would wear the bikini.

The two hadn't known that the bikini would have been considered inappropriate, thinking that as long as the important bits were covered, it would be fine.

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Her boyfriend admits that the bikini may have been "a little over the top" and understands the negative reaction surrounding the matter. He, however, explains that his girlfriend had stuck on nipple covers and wouldn't have flashed anyone.

He questioned: "If this swimsuit is considered flouting the law, then why was it sold in a local shop?"

She wore another similar bikini that was bought from the same shop as the first bikini on Oct 10. The two had only intended to swim in the hotel's pool but decided to head to the beach again after a hotel staff member had approached and asked them to mind their attire. The staff did assure them that the request was only out of consideration for the many children around.

Neither of them had expected to be stopped by the police upon their return to the hotel.

"We didn't know what we did wrong, the police just insisted that we cooperate," he shares.

It was only after they had reached the police station were they informed that people had been secretly taking and circulating photos of his girlfriend.

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As they wanted to settle the situation as quickly as possible, he paid the fine without complaint. They initially believed the matter would have ended there, but media outlets continued to report and circulate the photos without censoring either of their identities.

"We didn't even know people were taking photos, we were not the ones who took and spread those photos, yet we were the ones who were penalised," he says, questioning why they were fined for violating a law that prohibited the taking and display of lewd photographs when they should be considered the victims instead.

As a result of the intense internet scrutiny and doxxing, he says his girlfriend has been under a lot of stress and on the verge of breaking down. He feels guilt as well towards his girlfriend, as neither of them had expected that a harmless bet would result in such a huge incident.

"Please don't blame her," he ends off his message, adding, "please don't share her photos or personal details anymore".

rainercheung@asiaone.com