Taiwanese tourist charged with Misdemeanor indecent exposure, all for baring her body by wearing a thong bikini

A Taiwanese tourist was arrested and fined for wearing a particularly revealing bikini on the beach at the Philippines' newly reopened resort island of Boracay, local sources reported.

The tourist, who has not been named, sparked controversy by donning a string bikini on the island's famous white-sand beaches on October 9,

Lady on holiday from Taiwan with her boyfriend when the pair decided to visit Puka Beach on the island of Boracay.

She chose to wear a skimpy white thong bikini for the occasion – but found herself being stared at by shocked onlookers.

Photos taken of her on the beach then went viral online and caught the attention of the Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIAMRG).

The group directed the island's police force to act and Ting was tracked down to her hotel and arrested.

She and her boyfriend were taken to the police station with a hotel representative at 5.30pm on October 10.

According to Major Jess Baylon, Malay town Police Chief, Ting found nothing wrong with her bikini and said it was normally what she wore back at home in Taiwan.

She is said to have defended the clothing item as 'a form of expression and of feeling comfortable with her body'.

Major Baylon disagreed, telling the Philippine Daily Inquirer: 'It was literally a string. In our conservative culture, it is unacceptable.'

Ting was fined 2,500 Philippine Peso (£38.30), which she was ordered to pay before her planned departure from the island on October 11.

The Inquirer reports that while there are no laws for wearing indecent clothing, she was given the ticket for violating a law that prohibits the taking and display of 'lewd' photographs instead.

Natividad Bernardino, head of the BIAMRG, said: 'Foreign tourists should observe proper decorum as a form of respect for Philippine culture and tradition.

'We have our own cultural values as Filipinos and Asians. They should be able to respect that. There is no dress code but it is just common sense.

'They were told not to by the hotel management, but they said it was a form of art.'

It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally appear on any public beach, beach access, in the public waters, any other public property, or in view of the public in such a state of dress or undress so as to expose to the view of others specified anatomical areas.