Six wanted tourists still in country – Police

KOTA KINABALU: The Royal Malaysian Police will be working closely with the Immigration Department to track down the remaining six foreign tourists who allegedly stripped naked on Mount Kinabalu.

According to Sabah Police Commissioner Datuk Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman, police believed the six wanted tourists are still in the country.

“We believe they are still in the country and have not left the state.

“We are currently working with the Immigration Department to track them down,” he told a press conference at the police monthly gathering at the state police headquarters in Kepayan yesterday.

On Wednesday, four tourists, including two siblings, were ordered by the Magistrate’s Court to be remanded for four days to facilitate investigation under Section 294 (a) of the Penal Code for allegedly committing obscene act at Mount Kinabalu.

The four suspects aged between 22 and 24 were arrested separately on June 9 where a Canadian brother and sister along with a Dutch male, surrendered themselves at the Karamunsing police station at 6pm, while a British woman was arrested at the Tawau Airport.

The four are said to be among 10 foreign tourists who scaled Mount Kinabalu on May 30 before stripping naked and posed in the nude at the summit.

Meanwhile, Jalaluddin urged the Kinabalu Park management and mountain guides to immediately lodge police report on any obscene or indiscriminate act by climbers in the future.

He said on the day of the incident, police investigation revealed that some of the climbers had provided fake names during registration prior to the climb.

“This has caused difficulty for police and relevant authorities to identify and trace them.

“Therefore, to prevent such an incident to happen in the future, the management or tour guides must request for proper identification documents to prevent from any confusion.

“This will also make it easier for the authorities to identify climbers if an unexpected event happens in the future,” he said.

When asked if the foreign tourists had deliberately provided false identity, during registration, as they had intended to commit the obscene act at Mount Kinabalu, Jalaluddin said police were still investigating the matter.