Date:08/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/08/stories/2008100856492000.htm

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Skinny dipping man in Japan palace moat

TOKYO: The police on Tuesday apprehended a Western man who went skinny dipping in a moat ringing the Imperial Palace in a busy Tokyo business district, attracting a huge crowd.

The naked middle-aged man jumped into the moat, then threw rocks and splashed water at two policemen who chased him in a rowing boat, a Tokyo Metropolitan Police official said.

The official did not know the man’s name or nationality.

TV footage showed the man swimming around the moat as the police chased him with a long stick, attracting a crowd of onlookers.

He was in the water for about an hour.

He eventually got out and climbed a stone wall only to fall into the hands of police waiting for him.

The police official said he had never heard of a skinny dipper causing a stir in the palace moat before. — AP