4 tourists deported over nude pix on Malaysia peak

Kota Kinabalu: Four Western tourists were ordered deported from Malaysia on Friday after pleading guilty to obscenity charges for taking nude photos on a popular climbing peak, an act some in the country blamed for causing a deadly earthquake.

The defendants -- Eleanor Hawkins of Britain, 24, Dutchman Dylan Snel, 23, and Canadian brother and sister Lindsey, 23, and Danielle Petersen, 22 -- were arrested earlier this week in the wake of the deadly June 5 quake which killed 18 people on Mount Kinabalu.

A court in Kota Kinabalu, capital of the state of Sabah on Borneo island, sentenced them to three days' jail time starting from when they were arrested on Tuesday, meaning their term had been served.

They also were fined 5,000 Malaysian ringgit (US$ 1,330) and ordered deported for committing an "obscene act in a public place," which can carry a three-month jail term.

It was not immediately clear when they would be deported.

"It is a wake-up call to tourists not to ignore local traditions and culture," Masidi Manjun, the state's tourism minister, told AFP.

"Since they pleaded guilty and showed remorse, it is only fair that they are let off with a fine by the court." Hawkins' father expressed relief at the verdict, adding he wanted to get his daughter home safely.

"We are relieved... As far as we know she is currently under the protection of the consulate," Tim Hawkins told British newspaper The Guardian.

"We really do want her home, but we've got no idea what is going to happen and when."

He had earlier released a statement saying his daughter knows what she did "was stupid and disrespectful and is very sorry for the offence that she has caused the Malaysian people."

The 4,095-metre (13,435-foot) peak, a World Heritage Site and popular climbing destination, is considered sacred to tribal groups on Borneo, and many Malaysians were incensed after the photos taken May 30 circulated on the Internet.