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| Mount Kinabalu 'naked prank': UK reviews advice for travellers to Malaysia | Mount Kinabalu 'naked prank': UK reviews advice for travellers to Malaysia |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The UK government is reviewing its advice for tourists travelling to Malaysia in light of the arrest of a British woman for posing naked on a mountain, as her family issued a fresh statement on her behalf to apologise for the stunt. | |
| Eleanor Hawkins, a 23-year-old former head girl from Derby, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Southampton University, was one of 10 trekkers who were photographed stripping on Mount Kinabalu, south-east Asia’s highest peak, last month. Malaysian officials later linked the stunt on the sacred mountain to a deadly earthquake. | Eleanor Hawkins, a 23-year-old former head girl from Derby, who recently graduated with a master’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Southampton University, was one of 10 trekkers who were photographed stripping on Mount Kinabalu, south-east Asia’s highest peak, last month. Malaysian officials later linked the stunt on the sacred mountain to a deadly earthquake. |
| Her family issued a statement on Thursday saying she knew what she did was “stupid and disrespectful” and that she was very sorry for the offence caused. The UK Foreign Office confirmed it was reviewing its advice to avoid a repeat of the incident. | Her family issued a statement on Thursday saying she knew what she did was “stupid and disrespectful” and that she was very sorry for the offence caused. The UK Foreign Office confirmed it was reviewing its advice to avoid a repeat of the incident. |
| Hawkins is being held in a police cell after being remanded in court on Wednesday with three others – Canadian siblings Danielle and Lindsey Petersen, and a Dutch man, Dylan Snel. Police in Malaysia are continuing to hunt for the other six in the photograph, but it is understood that most if not all of the group have since left the country. | Hawkins is being held in a police cell after being remanded in court on Wednesday with three others – Canadian siblings Danielle and Lindsey Petersen, and a Dutch man, Dylan Snel. Police in Malaysia are continuing to hunt for the other six in the photograph, but it is understood that most if not all of the group have since left the country. |
| A third Canadian has reportedly been charged in connection with the nudist stunt. It has been speculated that self-styled “perpetual backpacker” Emil Kaminski, 33, led the group of tourists up the mountain. The New Straits Times reports he is facing charges of indecent exposure and insulting the local culture and people through social media postings. | |
| The travel blogger posted a video in which he criticised officials for linking the stunt and the earthquake. “To say something that fucking stupid you really need to have lobotomised yourself on a piece of heavy machinery,” Kaminski said. | |
| “Jesus Christ people, it’s just a fucking mountain,” he said, before reading out some of the insults he had received in response to an earlier post about the affair. | |
| It is unclear whether Kaminski was actually involved in the stunt, or is seeking to profit from its notoriety. The New Straits Times had said he was arrested on Wednesday, but its report has since been amended to make clear that he is not in custody. | |
| The British woman’s father, Tim Hawkins, said: “She knows what she did was stupid and disrespectful and is very sorry for the offence that she has caused the Malaysian people.” | The British woman’s father, Tim Hawkins, said: “She knows what she did was stupid and disrespectful and is very sorry for the offence that she has caused the Malaysian people.” |
| His statement added: “She has never been in any sort of trouble before.” | His statement added: “She has never been in any sort of trouble before.” |
| Officials in Sabah state, in the northern half of the island of Borneo, accused the tourists of showing “disrespect to the sacred mountain”. | Officials in Sabah state, in the northern half of the island of Borneo, accused the tourists of showing “disrespect to the sacred mountain”. |
| It has been reported that Sabah’s indigenous Kadazan Dusun people believed the tourists’ behaviour angered the spirit of the mountain and was the reason for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake which six days later struck near the mountain, killing 18 climbers. | It has been reported that Sabah’s indigenous Kadazan Dusun people believed the tourists’ behaviour angered the spirit of the mountain and was the reason for a magnitude 5.9 earthquake which six days later struck near the mountain, killing 18 climbers. |
| The family statement repeats a plea for clemency that Tim Hawkins made to the Malaysian authorities in an interview with the Guardian on Wednesday. | The family statement repeats a plea for clemency that Tim Hawkins made to the Malaysian authorities in an interview with the Guardian on Wednesday. |
| It said: “We hope that the Malaysian authorities deal with the misdemeanour and not link it to the unfortunate tragic events that occurred the following week.” | It said: “We hope that the Malaysian authorities deal with the misdemeanour and not link it to the unfortunate tragic events that occurred the following week.” |
| It added that Eleanor had been travelling in south-east Asia since January as part of a gap year. She went to Malaysia at the start of May and later that month travelled to Borneo, it said. | It added that Eleanor had been travelling in south-east Asia since January as part of a gap year. She went to Malaysia at the start of May and later that month travelled to Borneo, it said. |
| The Foreign Office, which is providing consular assistance to Hawkins, said: “The travel advice team are going to discuss with the Malaysian desk how best they think the travel advice should be updated in light of this incident. They are going to review it … they may include [reference to] it as a warning so that it doesn’t happen again.” | The Foreign Office, which is providing consular assistance to Hawkins, said: “The travel advice team are going to discuss with the Malaysian desk how best they think the travel advice should be updated in light of this incident. They are going to review it … they may include [reference to] it as a warning so that it doesn’t happen again.” |
| The current travel advice to Malaysia makes no mention of the incident. But it urges tourists to “respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times and be aware of your actions to ensure that they don’t offend”. | The current travel advice to Malaysia makes no mention of the incident. But it urges tourists to “respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times and be aware of your actions to ensure that they don’t offend”. |
| It adds: “You should also dress modestly, particularly in conservative and rural areas and when visiting places of worship.” | It adds: “You should also dress modestly, particularly in conservative and rural areas and when visiting places of worship.” |
| Hawkins was a head girl at a private school in Derbyshire, it emerged on Thursday. Headmaster Tom Brooksby confirmed that Hawkins was head girl, that she attended the school from 1995 and 2010, and that the school would be making a statement later. | Hawkins was a head girl at a private school in Derbyshire, it emerged on Thursday. Headmaster Tom Brooksby confirmed that Hawkins was head girl, that she attended the school from 1995 and 2010, and that the school would be making a statement later. |
| In a statement Brooksby said the school had an ethos of tolerance and understanding. He said: “One of the key things we teach our students is that making mistakes is an unavoidable part of their lifelong learning … It appears that Eleanor has made an error of judgment in this case and her actions have angered many people as well as attracting press coverage.” | In a statement Brooksby said the school had an ethos of tolerance and understanding. He said: “One of the key things we teach our students is that making mistakes is an unavoidable part of their lifelong learning … It appears that Eleanor has made an error of judgment in this case and her actions have angered many people as well as attracting press coverage.” |
| He said the school hoped the incident “is dealt with swiftly, fairly and proportionately”. | He said the school hoped the incident “is dealt with swiftly, fairly and proportionately”. |
| Hawkins’ cellmate Danielle Petersen, 22, and her brother Lindsey, 23, are from Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Toronto Star said their father, Floyd Petersen, only learned of their predicament when it contacted him on Saturday. He confirmed they were travelling together in Malaysia and said they rarely phoned home. | Hawkins’ cellmate Danielle Petersen, 22, and her brother Lindsey, 23, are from Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Toronto Star said their father, Floyd Petersen, only learned of their predicament when it contacted him on Saturday. He confirmed they were travelling together in Malaysia and said they rarely phoned home. |
| Masidi Manjun, Sabah’s state tourism minister, said Malaysians “especially those in Sabah were very upset” at some tabloid reports which suggested the tourists were arrested for angering the mountain gods and for causing the earthquake. | Masidi Manjun, Sabah’s state tourism minister, said Malaysians “especially those in Sabah were very upset” at some tabloid reports which suggested the tourists were arrested for angering the mountain gods and for causing the earthquake. |
| “They were remanded for four days for further investigation for alleged offence or offences under the penal code. Definitely they were not arrested for causing a ‘deadly earthquake’. In fact the idea of linking the strippers with the earthquake comes from various FB/Twitter postings by Emil Kaminski, who is one of the alleged ‘strippers’. It is reliably learnt that he left Sabah immediately after his mountain stunt. | “They were remanded for four days for further investigation for alleged offence or offences under the penal code. Definitely they were not arrested for causing a ‘deadly earthquake’. In fact the idea of linking the strippers with the earthquake comes from various FB/Twitter postings by Emil Kaminski, who is one of the alleged ‘strippers’. It is reliably learnt that he left Sabah immediately after his mountain stunt. |
| “We never said the naked stunt caused the earthquake. Sabahans were boiling hot for their total disrespect of Mt Kinabalu, considered sacred by Sabah’s largest indigenous tribe (Kadazan Dusun who make up over 30% of the state’s 3.2 million population) even before the earthquake happened. The earthquake multiplies their anger 1,000 times.” | “We never said the naked stunt caused the earthquake. Sabahans were boiling hot for their total disrespect of Mt Kinabalu, considered sacred by Sabah’s largest indigenous tribe (Kadazan Dusun who make up over 30% of the state’s 3.2 million population) even before the earthquake happened. The earthquake multiplies their anger 1,000 times.” |
| On Thursday, the park ranger who reported Hawkins and her fellow travellers to police called them arrogant and selfish. Daikin Anam said they need to “pay the price” for their actions. | |
| “I feel offended as a Dusun,” Daikin was quoted as saying by the Telegraph. “It’s not about the naked body I saw, but the action they did. That’s our holy mountain. What they did showed disrespect to our mountain, and our people in Sabah.” | |
| Anam’s complaint, seen by the Telegraph, was filed to police on 2 June. It said: “Around 7am, while the group were on their way back from the summit, they started to strip off their clothes – ignoring their guide. | |
| “The guide warned them not to do so, but they replied: ‘Stupid man, go to hell.’ He could not stop them. They even took a group photo and a selfie. Then they dressed and returned to the backpacker lodge.” | |
| Sabah’s chief tribal priest, Tindarama Aman Sirom Simbuna, told Malaysia’s Star newspaper that the tourists should be fined 10 head of buffalo in line with local customs. | Sabah’s chief tribal priest, Tindarama Aman Sirom Simbuna, told Malaysia’s Star newspaper that the tourists should be fined 10 head of buffalo in line with local customs. |
| It quoted him saying: “According to local beliefs, the spirit of the mountain is very angry,” he said. “This fine, called sogit in the native tongue, should be in the form of 10 male or female buffaloes.” | It quoted him saying: “According to local beliefs, the spirit of the mountain is very angry,” he said. “This fine, called sogit in the native tongue, should be in the form of 10 male or female buffaloes.” |