Frenchman allowed to climb Petronas

Frenchman allowed to climb Petronas

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): The Malaysian government yesterday agreed to let a French daredevil scale the world's tallest building, the Petronas Twin Towers, to raise funds for charity and generate publicity for the complex.

Alain Robert, a 34-year-old rock climber, was detained last week for an unauthorized attempt to climb the 88-story towers, which are 452-meter (1,491-foot) tall.

But Deputy Transport Minister Mohd Ali Rustam said Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad had agreed to allow Robert to undertake the feat on April 5, in appreciation of his abilities and because of the prospect of publicity for Malaysia and the towers.

Malaysian police Monday freed and dropped charges against Robert, who was arrested last week for attempting to scale the towers in central Kuala Lumpur owned largely by the state-run oil giant Petronas.

He had been detained along with a Malaysian companion on suspicion of trespassing. Robert reached the 60th floor of one tower before officers ended his climb by pulling him in through a window.