Kota Kinabalu, June 12 – Four Western tourists were charged Friday with indecent exposure for allegedly stripping on a sacred mountain in Borneo in eastern Malaysia a few days before a deadly earthquake struck, a police official said.
The four – a Canadian brother and sister, a Dutch man and a British woman – pleaded guilty to the crime but did not agree with some facts on the charge sheet, according to a journalist who was present at the arraignment.
Earlier this week, a tribal leader said “the tourists who angered the guardian of the mountain should pay for their mistakes by giving sogit,” or a traditional fine.”This should be in the form of 10 male or female buffalos,” Tindarama Aman Sirom Simbuna was quoted as saying by The Star.The judge Friday adjourned the hearing to allow the four accused to consult their lawyers, the journalist added.The suspects could be jailed up to three months or fined or both if found guilty, according to Sabah police chief Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman.They were allegedly among 10 Western tourists who stripped naked near the top of Mount Kinabalu, 1,600 kilometres east of Kuala Lumpur, on May 30 despite the protestations of their local guide.Some locals believe last week’s earthquake that killed 18 people was the vengeance of the spirits of Mount Kinabalu following the desecration of their abode by the nudists.
-DPA
