A British man threatened to “skin” a policeman after being told he didn’t have permission to swim with whale sharks.
Adrian Gregory Griffiths was spotted swimming towards the giant fish in the village of Tan-awan, in the Oslob region of Cebu Island, on Sunday (August 6).
According to a report in the Cebu Daily News, a local tourism official called police to the scene because the 56-year-old, a resident of Barangay Labangon, Cebu City, had not been “orientated” to swim among the endangered creatures.
When officers arrived at about 8.30am, Mr Griffiths had already returned to shore, where he was reported to be drunk and shouting aggressively. When asked to calm down, he said to police officer Judel Rivera: “I will kill you in two days, skin you off and tear you into pieces.”
Mr Griffiths, whose Facebook profile names his hometown as Knutsford in Cheshire, was then arrested on charges of grave threat and disobedience.
Swimming with whale sharks off the coast of Tan-awan has been a popular tourist attraction since 2011 when local fishermen started feeding the fish to entice them closer to the shore.
However, in recent years many environmental groups and local dive companies have been seeking to dissuade the practice over concerns for the welfare of the creatures.