Indonesian theme park covers up bare breasts of its giant mermaids

The decision to cover the mermaids was part of a drive to respect 'Eastern values'

The offending statues (AFP/Getty Images)

A pair of naked mermaids at an Indonesian theme park have had their breasts covered in an effort to make the attraction more "family friendly".

The two statues at Jakarta’s Ancol Dreamland, which have been in the park for 15 years, have recently been spotted wearing golden tube tops.

The garments were introduced as part of a recent policy aimed at respecting “Eastern values”, according to a report.

However, the new policy proved unsuccessful when visitors kept pulling the material down, resulting in the mermaids being moved to a quieter part of the park.

Rika Lestari, a spokesperson for Ancol Dreamland, said that the decision to dress the mermaids was made internally. “Ancol is trying to become an amusement park and vacation spot for families,” she was reported as saying.

The sculptor of the mermaids, Dolorosa Sinaga, told BBC Indonesia that visitors to Ancol Dreamland had been deprived of “the beauty of the arts products".

“What they did was close public access to enjoy the arts," she said.

However park-goer Nanda Julinda was unperturbed by the statues.

“The statues didn't disturb us,” she told the BBC. “It's weird to see art pieces being covered like that.”

Another visitor questioned the necessity of clothing on the mythical sea creatures.

It's not the first time an art piece has caused outrage in a Muslim-majority country. In September, an underwater sculpture museum in the Maldives was demolished when the government deemed it "anti-Islamic".