A tourist was caught on video being beaten with a stick by a passerby after climbing a sacred temple in Mexico.
The incident occurred over the weekend at the Chichen Itza archaeological site on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, a popular tourist attraction, and involved an unidentified tourist from Poland running up the steps of the Kukulkan pyramid, a move frowned upon by the locals. The Independent reported.
In videos of the scene, which have gone viral on social media, the tourist can be seen being taken out of the pyramid by two Mexican officials and then beaten with a stick by a passerby.
“Are you stupid?” a spectator yelled at the tourist.
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A tourist in Mexico has been arrested and fined after climbing the steps of a sacred pyramid.
(Daniel Fretwell via Storyful)
The Polish man was reportedly arrested and held for 12 hours before being released.
The director of the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) told the Mexico Daily Post that the tourist was fined 5,000 pesos, or $263, for the incident.
“Tourists must respect INAH security measures in the archaeological zone to preserve Mexico’s cultural heritage, take care of other visitors, and enjoy that Mayan legacy,” said INAH director José Arturo Chab Cárdenas.
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Tourists visit the Temple of Kukulcan at the Chichen Itza archaeological site, in Yucatan, Mexico, on December 8, 2022.
(Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
A similar incident unfolded in November when a tourist was mugged by bystanders and pelted with water for scaling the same pyramid, Fox Tampa Bay reported.
Climbing the sacred site has been prohibited since 2008 due to the efforts of the Mexican government to preserve the Mayan pyramids.
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People surround the Kukulcan pyramid at the Mayan archaeological site of Chichen Itza in the state of Yucatan, Mexico, during the celebration of the spring equinox on March 21, 2022.
(Photo by HUGO BORGES/AFP via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to the National Institute of Anthropology and History for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
