A Vietnamese man charged with importing child pornography through Melbourne Airport on his mobile phone has told authorities taking the photographs was a harmless custom in his country.
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A Melbourne court heard Si Tan Quan claimed it was a "common custom in Vietnam to take nude photos of boys because you are proud of them".
Mr Quan, 39, said after his arrest on Sunday he took photographs of the boy, aged about eight, because there was pride and happiness "that he was a boy".
Melbourne Magistrates Court was told on Monday he was arrested and charged after customs officers viewed images on his phone of a child in a "sexually explicit pose".
Prosecutor Ranjani Padmanabhay said there were about four still images and one short movie found on his phone.
Ms Padmanabhay told the court Mr Quan said he had travelled for business and after being subjected to a baggage examination his Samsung phone was found and viewed.
In a statement of alleged facts, magistrate Amanda Chambers heard the images included a boy in shorts revealing his genitals, his bare buttocks and a short video of him "dancing and gyrating with his shorts pulled down exposing his bare buttocks".
In a formal record of interview, Mr Quan said the images were taken "for fun" and denied they were child pornography.
Ms Padmanabhay did not oppose bail for Mr Quan who was released on conditions that included the surrender of his passport, that he not leave Victoria and he appear for a committal mention in November on one charge of importing child pornography.
