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.