Photo: IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
PETALING JAYA: The woman who claims to have scaled to the top of Merdeka 118 in Kuala Lumpur has detailed her "ascent" of the second tallest building in the world on social media.
In a series of tweets, Angela Nikolau said she first rented an apartment close to Merdeka 118 in order to "conduct surveillance of the building", adding that she spent several weeks figuring out important details before beginning the climb.
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She also claimed to have donned glasses and a construction worker's uniform as part of her initial disguise to blend in when beginning her climb.
“I ran the first 32 floors and overheated. I then had to lie down on the concrete floor naked to cool down and later drank all the water I had,” she tweeted late Wednesday (Jan 4) night.
Nikolau said she was almost detected by site personnel and hid in a small concrete box for more than 20 hours.
“I was without food, water and rest. I couldn’t even cry as the workers were right next to me, as I feared they would hand me over to security,” she said, adding that she continued her journey to the top three hours later when the workers were resting.
“The spire itself was 53 floors high – and I was wearing a 15kg backpack. If you look at the previous photo, you won't even see the bottom.
“I'm not sure if I would climb it if I knew how high it was. After finishing the climb, I could not feel my arms nor lift them,” she claimed.
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Nikolau added that she respected the laws of all countries, acknowledging that she did however trespass.
“Despite that (trespassing), I took special care not to damage anything which (others) sometimes do. My goal is to create memorable art by capturing moments of the world’s tallest buildings,” she said.
Netizens were not appreciative of her sharing, with many questioning the authenticity of the stunt and also tagging the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and Home Ministry in their responses.
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Twitter user @bibbsDarling said the stunt was disrespectful as the duo had come into another country and proudly sneaked into a building.
Similarly, Twitter user @dyoguma said the authorities should take action as the individual had clearly trespassed and @FarhanahMel also questioned how Nikolau could be so pleased with herself for committing a crime.
Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Deputy Comm Datuk Yahaya Othman had said on Sunday (Jan 1) that PDRM would seek the assistance of the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
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"We are working with the MCMC to verify the authenticity of the video.
"We are also in the midst of getting the immigration records of the foreigners," he told reporters during a New Year operation on Jalan Loke Yew, Kuala Lumpur.
On Dec 28, it was reported that Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus had scaled up Merdeka 118, prompting questions of security by netizens.
Photos of the climb were uploaded on the Internet and reshared on Reddit.
On Dec 29, Dang Wangi OCPD Asst Comm Noor Dellhan Yahaya confirmed that a report had been received on the matter.
He then said on Thursday (Jan 5) that the statements of nine people had been recorded so far in connection with the matter, and that MCMC had furnished a social media analysis report to police for use in the probe.
