British woman flies home after 'naked mountain' arrest and sentence

A British woman convicted for stripping on a sacred Malaysian mountain has returned to the UK.

Backpacker Eleanor Hawkins, who pleaded guilty to a public nuisance offence, arrived at Heathrow Airport early on Sunday morning having been deported from Malaysia.

At a court hearing in Kota Kinabalu on Friday she was fined 5,000 Malaysian ringgit (£859) and sentenced to three days in jail, which she had already served.

Miss Hawkins was arrested with three other backpackers earlier this week for posing naked on the mountainside, after being blamed by locals for causing an earthquake which killed 18 people.

A British woman convicted for stripping on a sacred Malaysian mountain is "pleased and happy" to be returning home to the UK, her lawyer said.

Backpacker Eleanor Hawkins, who pleaded guilty to a public nuisance offence, is due to be deported from Malaysia today.

At a court hearing in Kota Kinabalu she was fined 5,000 Malaysian ringgit (£859) and sentenced to three days in jail, which she has already served.

The 23-year-old's jail sentence officially ended at midnight, her lawyer said, and she was handed to immigration officers to arrange for her flight home via Kuala Lumpur.

Ronny Cham, who represented Miss Hawkins in court yesterday, said she was relieved to be returning home.

He told the Press Association: "She is pleased and happy."

More: Father of mountain strip Brit 'relieved' court ordeal is over

The father of a British woman who pleaded guilty to a public nuisance offence after posing naked on a mountain in Malaysia, has said he is relieved his daughter's court ordeal is over.

Timothy Hawkins said the sentence given to his daughter Eleanor was "appropriate" and "fair" and confirmed the family were now waiting to be told when she would be coming home.

He stated that the family "want her to come back but obviously want some privacy".

Mr Hawkins added that the family were keen to speak to Eleanor and check she was ok after seeing some of the videos of her being "treated pretty badly" as she was bundled in and out of court.

A British backpacker who pleaded guilty to a public nuisance offence after posing naked on a mountain in Malaysia has been jailed for three days and handed a 5000 Ringit (£850) fine.

Eleanor Hawkins, 23, from Derby, has reportedly already served her sentence due to time spent in custody while she was detained with a group of other foreign tourists after the pictures emerged online.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The legal process is a matter for the Malaysian courts and it would not be appropriate for us to comment. Our priority at this time is to support the British national and her family."

Hawkins appeared in court alongside three other defendants - Canadian siblings Lindsey and Danielle Petersen, and a Dutch man - following the mountaintop incident.

A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck the 13,400ft-high mountain last Friday, killing 18 people and leaving hundreds more stranded.

Sabah state deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan blamed the earthquake six days later on the travellers showing "disrespect to the sacred mountain".

The group of 10 tourists stripped naked before taking photos at the peak of Kinabalu on May 30.

Earlier, Hawkins' father said his daughter was sorry for any offence caused by her actions.

He said: "She knows what she did was stupid and disrespectful and is very sorry for the offence that she has caused the Malaysian people."

He added: "We hope that the Malaysian authorities deal with the misdemeanour and not link it to the unfortunate tragic events that occurred the following week."

Mr Hawkins criticised an arrested Canadian - named in reports as 33-year-old Emil Kaminski - who is said to have circulated the photos and posted offensive comments on social media.

He accused the "halfwit Canadian guy" of "stirring up a media storm".

Hawkins, who recently graduated with a masters from Southampton University, was in the middle of a gap year travelling around south-east Asia which began in January.

A young woman from Derby blamed for triggering an earthquake by posing naked on a sacred mountain has pleaded guilty to a public nuisance offence, it has been reported.

Backpacker Eleanor Hawkins, 23, admitted the offence during an appearance at Kota Kinabalu Magistrates' Court in Malaysia.

She was among a group of Western backpackers arrested after photos emerged of them stripping naked on Mount Kinabalu.

Hawkins, an aeronautical engineering graduate, was arrested at Tawau airport on Tuesday as she was flying from the island of Borneo to the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking after the case, her father Timothy Hawkins said: "We have not had contact with the lawyer yet, so we don't know the precise details of what happened."

He declined to comment on whether he saw television footage of his daughter, her face covered, being ushered into the court building by guards.

Hawkins could be jailed for up to three months for the offence.

A British woman blamed for triggering an earthquake by posing naked on a sacred mountain is due to appear in court where she could be charged over allegations of indecent behaviour, her lawyer said.

Eleanor Hawkins, 23, is among a group of Western backpackers arrested after photos emerged of them allegedly stripping naked on Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia.

She is due to appear at Kota Kinabalu Magistrates' Court.

Prosecution carries a possible three-month prison sentence or a fine.

A magnitude-5.9 earthquake struck the 13,400ft-high mountain last Friday, killing 18 people and leaving hundreds more stranded.

Sabah state deputy chief minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan blamed the earthquake six days later on travellers showing "disrespect to the sacred mountain".

The group of 10 tourists stripped naked before taking photos at the peak of Kinabalu on May 30.

Maggie Throup is the MP for Erewash - she says she's held an urgent meeting with the Foreign Office to find out what they are doing to help Eleanor Hawkins.

She is currently being held on the Malaysian island of Borneo after posing naked on a mountain considered by locals to be sacred.

Eleanor Hawkins' local MP Maggie Throup has met with the Foreign Office minister Hugo Swire today to raise her concerns.

She was told officials are doing all they can to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.

The 23-year-old from Derbyshire is being held in custody in Malaysia after undressing at the top of a sacred mountain during a back pack tour with other friends.

She has apologised for what she described as a stupid prank .

Eleanor Hawkins, former head-girl of Ockbrook School in Derbyshire, has been arrested in Malaysia for allegedly posing naked on top of a sacred mountain.

The school's headmaster, T M Brooksby, has provided a statement where he describes Ockbrook as "much more than a learning community, it is a supportive family".

He emphasises that their "ethos and culture is one of tolerance and understanding."

The headmaster also added that the school "instils the importance of learning from mistakes" and trying to give the students "the resilience to do better next time."

He said that "It appears that Eleanor has made an error of judgement in this case and her actions have angered many people as well as attracting press coverage."

His statement concluded with the headmaster saying that he hopes the matter of Leah's arrest is dealt with "swiftly, fairly and proportionately and that she is able to return to her family in the UK as soon as possible."

Eleanor is currently being detained been detained in Malaysia and is receiving consular assistance.