Four foreign hikers pleaded guilty Friday to “committing an obscene act” after they took nude photos at a mountain considered sacred in Malaysia.
The backpackers from Britain, Canada and the Netherlands were arrested after stripping naked May 30 and posing for photos at the summit of Mount Kinabalu, the nation’s Bernama news agency reported.
Local residents said their behavior caused the Kota Kinabalu quake this month, which killed 16 people. The indigenous people of Sabah believe the tourists disrespected local culture and angered the spirit of the mountain, causing the earthquake, Bernama reported.
Among those who appeared in court was a British citizen who was arrested at the airport this week as she was about to leave for the capital of Kuala Lumpur.
The other three turned themselves in. They face up to three months in prison or a fine.
Naked tourism
It’s not the first time tourists have made headlines for stripping off their clothes at major attractions.
Cambodia deported two U.S. tourists for allegedly taking nude pictures at Angkor Archaeological Park after a string of nudity-related incidents hit the religious sites this year.
At least eight tourists were detained last year in separate incidents for getting naked and posing for photos in Machu Picchu, the 15th-century attraction in Peru.