Mountain stripper banned

A man who stripped on northeast Asia's highest peak has been banned from the mountain and sent to prosecutors for ruining the scenery, national park officials said today.

The 30-year-old man surnamed Lu will be kept off Jade Mountain in Taiwan for one to three years after a friend took photos of him naked on the 3,952-metre peak on Tuesday and posted them online, officials said. Prosecutors may indict him, as well.

"I think he was just goofing around," said acting park police chief Chou Yen-hui. "He said it was just for fun. But Taiwanese are conservative, and Jade Mountain is our sacred peak."

Jagged and often snowy Jade Mountain, the centrepiece of Taiwan's largest national park, is a Taiwan symbol often used for official promotions and company advertisements. Climbers must apply for permits a month in advance to attempt the summit.