Malaysian Nudists
Malaysian police officers show portraits of people allegedly involved in a nudist sports festival. STR/AFP/Getty Images

A Malaysian court handed jail sentences to six men after a video of them taking part in nude events at a beach went viral online.

The six nudists - five Malaysian and one Singaporean - pleaded guilty to charges of public obscenity and were sentenced to one month in jail and fined 5,000 ringgit (£950) each.

They were arrested earlier this month, after police in the predominantly Muslim country opened an investigation into an online video depicting 18 people participating in an event called the Nude Sports Games 2014 at a beach on Penang Island, north-western Malaysia.

The 18 men and women were seen engaging in a series of activities, including nude swimming and relay races and body painting.

Recorded at the end of May, the video emerged online in August, causing outrage amid conservative Muslims.

Another four participants who were also arrested are contesting charges against them and have been released on bail pending the start of their trial in the town of Balik Pulau, Penang, in October.

"We are still hunting for five more individuals, one each from Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and two Myanmar nationals," Mohamad Jalaluddin, the investigating police officer in the case told AFP.