Four Westerners held for stripping on Malaysian mountain

Kuala Lumpur: Two Canadian siblings, a Dutch and a Briton were taken into custody by the Malaysian authorities on Wednesday for allegedly stripping naked on Mount Kinabalu, an act which the locals believe angered the spirit of the mountain and caused a deadly earthquake.

Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman, police commissioner for the eastern Malaysian state of Sabah, said that the four Westerners were detained on Tuesday and they were still searching for the other six tourists. The detainees might be charged for causing public nuisance, Xinhua news agency reported.

Jalaluddin also confirmed that two Singaporeans, missing on Mount Kinabalu after a 5.9-magnitude earthquake last Friday, have died.

Several days before the earthquake, a group of foreign tourists stripped to take pictures at the top of Mount Kinabalu, which infuriated many local people who regarded this act as disrespectful.

Sabah's Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Masidi Manjun tweeted that the legal proceedings against the four Westerners have begun and they would be remanded for four days.