by Rex Wockner
International News
Two male U.S. citizens were arrested in Playa del Carmen, in Mexico's Quintana Roo state, for kissing and hugging in public, the Mexico City daily El Universal reported Oct. 22.
Eric Schroeder, 22, and Jose Mendez, 35, were accused of committing "a moral misdeed" (una falta a la moral), jailed for 15 hours and fined 2,000 pesos ($148).
Schroeder told the paper that on Oct. 10 the couple was "resolving some differences that we had" and, as they walked out of the house, "there were a few hugs and a kiss out front."
At that point, police arrived, handcuffed them, then drove them around while they "picked up more people who presumably had committed other crimes," he said.
"They wanted money and realizing they weren't going to get it, they drove us around," Schroeder said.
The couple's eventual incarceration at the main police station ended after they paid a cop a 300-peso fee to take one of their credit cards and withdraw money to pay the 2,000-peso fine, Schroeder said.
