PETALING JAYA - An investigation has been launched into an incident where two climbers scaled Malaysia’s Merdeka 118 skyscraper, the second tallest structure in the world.
In a statement, a spokesman of PNB Merdeka Ventures, which owns the 118-storey, 678.9m-high megatall skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, said legal action will be taken against any person found trespassing the site.
“We wish to highlight that the Merdeka 118 development is still very much a live construction site and safety remains our priority.
“As it is private property, any trespassers will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
“We are providing our full support and cooperation to the authorities on this matter,” said the spokesman.
On Wednesday, photographs of two climbers on the top of the building went viral on social media.
The climbers are Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau, who identify themselves as extreme climbers. They post their daredevil acts around the world on their accounts regularly.
Mr Beerkus has more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, while Ms Nikolau has more than 700,000 followers. They also sell their pictures on Foundation, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
In an Instagram Story, Ms Nikolau shared that she was born and raised in a circus family in Moscow, adding: “Many people say that the passion for extreme is in my blood.”
Some netizens initially questioned whether the pictures of the couple on Merdeka 118 are authentic, saying the duo themselves did not share them on their official accounts. On Wednesday, Beerkus himself said the building has an “absolutely unattainable height” in his Instagram post.
But on Thursday, he followed up with a video clip of him and Ms Nikolau posing on top of the spire of Merdeka 118.
Ms Nikolau also shared another clip of herself sitting on the edge of the spire, while holding a long selfie stick to capture her balancing act with her camera.
Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief, Datuk Yahaya Othman, has confirmed to the New Straits Times that the duo will be called in to have their statements recorded, and will be investigated under the Penal Code for trespassing. THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
