KOTA KINABALU, June 13 ― Four foreign tourists who were convicted for public nudity on the summit of Malaysia’s tallest mountain will be returning to their respective home countries this afternoon after serving their three-day jail sentence.
Sabah Immigration Department director Noor Alam Khan Abdul Wahid Khan told Malay Mail Online the quartet have been cleared to leave the Kota Kinabalu airport.
“We have processed their documents and sent them off through immigration. Three of them will be leaving at about 1pm while one more will leave around 5pm,” he said.
State police commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman confirmed Canadian siblings Lindsey, 23, and his sister Danielle Peterson, 22 along with Dutch national Dylan Snel, 23 will be flying on a 12.35pm to Kuala Lumpur while Briton Eleanor Hawkins, 24 will fly out at about 5.35pm on Malaysia Airlines.
"They will be leaving back to their respective countries from there," said Noor Alam.
The four were yesterday convicted of indecent behaviour charges and of upsetting the native community with their strip act on Mount Kinabalu, considered sacred ground.
They were sentenced to three days imprisonment effective from the day of their arrest on June 9, and fined RM5,000 each; and were released immediately after paying the fine.
The four had pleaded guilty to committing the offence on May 30, at KM8 on the peak of Mount Kinabalu when they challenged each other to see who could last the longest while naked.
The women had gone topless while the mean stripped completely naked despite being warned against it by their mountain guide.
Locals were outraged when photos of their antics surfaced on social media.
Their anger deepened after state Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan made a direct connection between the nudists and a deadly 5.9-magnitude earthquake that hit Sabah’s west coast and killed 18, mostly climbers on Mount Kinabalu.
The arrests of the four and the statement also drew international media attention, especially in the UK where Hawkins was a headgirl at her school.
Police said they are still looking for six more tourists who have been identified as part of the group who had committed the act.
