French "Spiderman" Alain Robert was today charged with criminal trespass at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court for scaling the Petronas Towers yesterday.

NONE He pleaded guilty and was fined RM2,000 or two months' jail in default.

"Climbing is my passion, climbing is my life," the daredevil said outside court when asked why he had scaled the towers, which were for a time the world's tallest buildings.

His next target, to climb one of the tall buildings in Dubai, which already has the Burj hotel and the under construction Burj Dubai which will be one of the tallest buildings in the world soon.

Robert was led into court wearing an olive-green jacket, jeans and leather boots. He was unshaven and his eyes bloodshot.

NONE "Everybody has been very nice," he said of his one-day incarceration. Robert was represented by a team of three lawyers led by Wong Kian Kheong.

In mitigation, Wong said his client had a passion for climbing buildings and he was 60 percent disabled as certified by the French authorities due to injuries caused by falls from high places.

He also added that his client, who spent the night in a police cell, had vowed not to climb any other buildings in Malaysia.

Wong told the court that because of his medical condition, Robert had to seek treatment and had booked a flight back to Paris on Sept 7 viak Singapore.

"Alain has also trained the Malaysian and the French firemen in the past. This is his first conviction, and the court should spare him a custodial sentence,” he said.

A passionate climber

Wong also told the court that Robert was "a passionate climber" who had climbed buildings for charity and fun.

"He had scaled the Yayasan Sabah building and managed to collect RM500,000 in donations and he has done it because of his passion for charity despite not having a stable income," he said.

NONE Wong also revealed that his client is married and has three children aged between 16 and 22.

Pleading for a fine, Wong said his client had not caused any damage to property.

"He has not done climbs for profit or publicity, I have never met any other person who is so passionate about climbing," he said.

He was charged under Section 447 Penal Code which carries a punishment of up to six months' jail and/or a fine up to RM3,000.

Yesterday, the 46-year-old Frenchman successfully scaled the towers on his third attempt.

He first tried to scale the building in 1997, and made a second unsuccessful attempt in 2007 after which he was freed without charge. Both times he reached the 60th storey before being intercepted by authorities.

NONE Clad in a black shirt and jeans depicting a 1Malaysia logo, Robert used only his bare hands to achieve the feat.

He celebrated his two-hour ascent yesterday by standing with his arms outspread on the pinnacle of one of the towers, which are home to the state energy firm Petronas as well as many international companies.

He has been nicknamed "Spiderman" for his high-profile escapades, which have included climbing the Eiffel Tower in Paris and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.

Magistrate Siti Shakirah Mohtaruddin, in fining Robert, said it was to deter others from committing criminal trespass.

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