Four Western tourists pleaded guilty to obscenity charges over nude photos at Mount Kinabalu, which is blamed by locals as the cause of the 6.0-magnitude earthquake killing 18 people since they angered the spirits.
Tourists Eleanor Hawkins of Britain, 24, Dutchman Dylan Snel, 23, and Canadian Lindsey Petersen, 23, and Danielle Petersen, 22 entered their guilty pleas in the Kota Kinabalu court of Sabah.
The four were sentenced to three days jail, fined RM5,000 (about $1,300 U.S.) each and ordered to be deported for the charges of "obscene act in a public place" on the Malaysian mountain, the Malay Mail Online reported.
Mount Kinabalu, a 4,095-meter (13,435-foot) peak, is a World Heritage Site and popular climbing destination which is considered sacred to tribal groups on Borneo.
When their nude photos appeared online, it caused outrage to the locals as they consider it a disrespect of the sacred mountain. Such an act is also considered obscene and strongly disliked by Muslims, the majority in Malaysia.
The tourists removed their clothes to challenge each other on who could withstand the chilly air of the summit, ignoring the local mountain guide's reproach. The two men stripped completely nude while the two women went topless.
The defendants were among a larger group of tourists who took nude photos. Five other suspects are still being hunted down.
Tim Hawkins, the father of Eleanor Hawkins, released a statement saying that her daughter is "obviously quite scared and upset."
"She knows what she did was stupid and disrespectful and is very sorry for the offence that she has caused the Malaysian people," he said.
"She has never been in any sort of trouble before. We hope that the Malaysian authorities deal with the misdemeanor and not link it to the unfortunate tragic events that occurred the following week."
The foreigners were arrested in the wake of the earthquake when Malaysian social media users expressed their anger to the nudists.
"This is very offensive behavior and showed disrespect to the sacred mountain...This will certainly bring misfortune," Sabah's Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan said. "We can't play with the spirit of the sacred mountain."
The deadly earthquake sent rocks and boulders down the mountain where around 150 mountaineers are hiking causing the death of 18 people, including seven Singaporean schoolchildren; two of their teachers and an adult were on a school excursion to the mountain, according to The Strait Times Singapore.
