"Topless tourist" returns to U.K., apologizes to Malaysia

LONDON - Eleanor Hawkins has returned to England and apologized to the people of Malaysia for having posed topless on a sacred mountain.

The student, who served a three-day jail term in Malaysia's Sabah state before being set free, says she knows her actions had been wrong.

She said Sunday that "I know my behavior was foolish and I know how much offense we all caused to the local people of Sabah. For that, I am truly sorry."

Hawkins was one of four foreigners charged in Malaysia after removing their clothes and posing for a photograph on Mount Kinabalu.

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan said at the time the group "showed disrespect to the sacred" Mount Kinabalu. He added a special ritual would be conducted to "appease the mountain spirit."

The Malay Mail online news portal said the court was told the group of 10 had challenged each other to see who could remain naked the longest in the cold.

They ignored a plea by their mountain guide not to strip, it said.

The 23-year-old seemed near tears as she read a statement outside her family's home in Draycott, 120 miles north of London. She says she's relieved to be home.