The father of a British woman facing jail for stripping naked on a sacred mountain has said his daughter is 'scared and upset' as she goes through the Malaysian court system.
Eleanor Hawkins, 23, was among 10 people blamed by locals for causing a deadly earthquake by angering mountain gods after she and a group of friends stripped off on beautiful Mount Kinabalu.
A picture posted on Facebook by one of the group showing them in the nude on the sacred site sparked an investigation and a series of arrests by Malaysian police.
They have been charged with "committing obscene acts in a public place" - a crime that which could land them with up to three months in prison. The group appeared in court yesterday.
The Mirror reported Eleanor, of Derby, was stopped by detectives yesterday as she tried to board a plane to Kuala Lumpur.
"We've spoken to Eleanor," he told the paper. "She's obviously a bit scared and shocked about what happened.
Students were among the 16 people killed in the 5.9 magnitude quake on May 30. Two people are still missing following the tragedy.
Malaysia's deputy chief minister Tan Sri Alfred Jab has reportedly said the tourists deserve to be punished.
"Some places have their own historical background and are sacred to the local community and, as such, visitors to these places should respect the place, the local traditions and cultures," he told reporters from Malaysian news site Bernama.
"If we go to a mountain, there is what I call a mountain protocol to be observed. We local people believe that there is someone, the guardians of these places, and there is a form of order of sacredness for those who go to the mountain to respect."
