ASIA: 'Spiderman' fined over Malaysia Twin Towers climb
Wed Sep 2 22:48:22 EST 2009
Wed Sep 2 12:48:22 UTC 2009
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 AP - A French climber nicknamed "Spiderman" has been fined 2,000 ringgit (about $A700) for climbing Malaysia's 88-story Petronas Twin Towers.
A Kuala Lumpur court official said Alain Robert pleaded guilty on Wednesday to a criminal trespassing charge.
A day earlier, Robert sneaked past security to reach the top of Tower 2 of the landmark buildings, before being arrested.
The 46-year-old began climbing the 88-storey building before dawn on Tuesday and reached the top before being discovered by security officials, Kuala Lumpur police chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman said on Tuesday.
Robert first tried to scale the Malaysian building on March 20, 1997, and made a second unsuccessful attempt in 2007, but was arrested at the 60th floor both times and then freed without charge.
He has been nicknamed Spiderman for his high-profile escapades, which have included climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco and Taipei 101 in Taiwan.
Robert pleaded guilty in Australia in June to illegally climbing a 41-storey building in Sydney's CBD.
He was slapped with a $750 fine.
KL's 452-metre Petronas Twin Towers, which were completed in 1998, were for several years the world's tallest buildings until being upstaged by Taipei 101 among others.
AP/AAP srp
