Wednesday September 2, 2009
Third time lucky for French Spidey
KUALA LUMPUR: French “Spiderman” Alain Robert was arrested after successfully scaling the Petronas Twin Towers, in his third attempt on the nation’s tallest structure, police said.
The 46-year-old began climbing one of the 88-storey towers before dawn and reached the top before being discovered by security officials, Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Muhammad Sabtu Osman told AFP.
“We have taken him back to the police station for questioning and checking his passport. He can be charged for criminal trespass ... He climbed the building without a permit from the management,” he said.
Robert, clad in a black shirt and trousers, celebrated his ascent by standing with his arms outspread on the pinnacle of one of the towers, as a helicopter circled in the misty early morning.
French ‘spiderman’ Alain Robert raising his hands while standing on the tip of the 88- storey Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. It was his third attempt at doing so. A helicopter circled around the tower as Robert got to the top. The celebrations turned awry later when police arrested him. — AFP Eyewitnesses said he took less than two hours to complete the climb, and then fixed a Malaysian flag on top of the building which is home to Petronas as well as many international companies.
“He climbed using his bare hands and reached the top very fast ... as no security personnel noticed him or stopped him,” said Ee Wee Kiat, a cameraman who was filming the scene from the ground.
Robert first tried to scale the building on March 20, 1997, and made a second unsuccessful attempt in 2007, after which he was freed without charge. Each time he reached the 60th storey before being intercepted by authorities.
Robert has been nicknamed “Spiderman” for his high-profile escapades including climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
News Poll
- Teacher held for oral sex on Year Two girl
- Lau sought psychiatrist’s help after death of fan’s dad
- Police shoot dead leader of ‘Berong Gang’
- Australian court sentences Malaysian who posed as taxi driver
- Teoh Beng Hock exhumed for second autopsy (Update)
- Foreign woman falls to death at high-end condo
- Prime Minister comes up with plan to end crisis in MCA
- 15-year-old held for trying to kill mum with acid-laced sarong
- Indonesia seizes 75tons of explosive material from M’sia
- Fresh polls in six to eight months if new mechanism used
- Australian court sentences Malaysian who posed as taxi driver
- Teacher held for oral sex on Year Two girl
- 10 states see increase in number of dengue cases
- AirAsia launches new flights to three Indian cities
- Teoh Beng Hock exhumed for second autopsy (Update)
- Lau sought psychiatrist’s help after death of fan’s dad
- Prime Minister comes up with plan to end crisis in MCA
- Take care of yourself first
- Police shoot dead leader of ‘Berong Gang’
- Our diversity is a blessing, says PM
RSS
