A brother and sister from Saskatchewan are being prevented from leaving Malaysia.
Lindsey and Danielle Petersen are two of the ten tourists who are blamed for an earthquake that struck Mount Kinabalu. The magnitude 5.9 earthquake shook the eastern Sabah state on the Borneo island this Friday. At least 16 bodies have been recovered from the rubble.
The group of tourists allegedly stripped naked before taking pictures on a mountain peak. They are accused of disrespecting the mountain, which is considered a sacred place.
A family member has declined to comment, other than confirming that the pair is fine.
Liberal MP Ralph Goodale told CTV the deputy minister of foreign affairs has had direct contact with the Petersens and they are working on the necessary steps to get them back to Canada.
“The incident, obviously, was ill advised, especially in a foreign country, but when Canadians are in difficulty overseas it is the responsibility of the Canadian government to come to their assistance and to make sure that they are properly and appropriately treated,” said Goodale.
It is believed that both Danielle and Lindsey Petersen are, or were, students at the University of Regina.
The University of Regina released a statement this afternoon. “The university is monitory the situation. It is our hope that fairness, justice and reasonableness will guide the handling of this case. Further comment at this point would be premature, as we are still gathering information,” they wrote.
It is also believed that Lindsey Petersen is an engineering student. The University of Regina Engineering Students’ Society was contacted for a comment on the situation; however, they said that they were not affiliated with him.
Goodale said that the siblings are in the custody of local authorities-not the national government. Plans are being developed to get the siblings out of Malaysia within the next few days.
