Four Westerners suspected of posing nude at Quake-Hit Peak, the highest peak in Malaysia, last month were detained, the police said Wednesday. 

The incident took place days before the death of 18 climbers on the mountain due to an earthquake.

According to Chief Jalaluddin Abdul Rahman of the Sabah state police, the court order of the arrests were obtained by the police on Wednesday. The order allowed the four Westerners to be detained for as long as four days to give the police time to investigate the incident involving indecent behavior, reported China Daily.

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Among those detained were two Canadians siblings, a Dutch male and a British woman. The Canadians and the Dutch reportedly made voluntary surrender at a Sabah police station Tuesday evening, while the British woman's detainment only occurred when she traveled to Kuala Lumpur from Sabah. The woman was detained at a Sabah airport early Tuesday, according to The Associated Press.

The siblings were earlier identified by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Malaysia as Lindsey Petersen and Danielle Petersen.

The four were believed to be part of a group of 10 people who took pictures on May 30 at Mount Kinabalu after they all stripped naked.

Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Pairin Kitingan of Sabah argued that the foreigners were detained because of the show of "disrespect to the sacred mountain" when they went nude before taking photos.

Kitingan added that in order to "appease the mountain spirit," a special ritual is needed to be conducted first.

On Sunday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it assisted the two Canadians who were barred before they left for Malaysia, according to 680 News.

The magnitude 5.9 earthquake that hit the area resulted in rocks and boulders tumbling down trekking routes on the mountain in Sabah, Borneo. Eighteen climbers who were in the 4,095-meter-high mountain were killed during the strong quake.

The 18 victims reportedly included nine Singaporeans, six Malaysians, a Chinese national, a Japanese national and a Filipino national.

Apart from the deaths, the tremor also broke a rock from a twin rock formation in the iconic Donkey's Ear peak. It also damaged roads and structures, which include schools and a hospital on west Sabah.

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