'French Spiderman' Alain Robert under police custody after scaling Makati building

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 29) — A French urban climber is under police custody after scaling a high-rise building in Makati Tuesday morning.

Makati City Police confirmed to CNN Philippines that the man who scaled GT International Tower along Ayala Ave. is Alain Roberts, known as the "French spiderman."

The city police chief, Senior Superintendent Rogelio Simon, said Robert has been in Manila since Monday evening. Simon added Robert was walking with his lawyer before he went up 217-meter tall concrete and glass building.

"Nagresearch na talaga siya sa building na 'to at talagang napili niya talaga 'to na aakyatin," he said.

[Translation: He researched on the building and he chose this.]

The climb began at around 11 a.m., and lasted for around one and a half hours.

Police are eyeing charging Robert with trespassing or public disturbance. He will temporarily be at the city's regular detention center, Simon added.

"We don't encourage the public to do the same because it's a security and safety hazard," he said.

Speaking to CNN Philippines, Robert, however, said it would be "difficult" for officials to charge him with trespassing. He said he did not find anything scandalous with the act.

"There isn't any scandal. I know they're trying to charge me for trespass, but for me, trespassing is entering into the property, which I didn't," Robert said in an interview with CNN Philippines News Night Tuesday.

"I need to stay here for a while. Hopefully everything should be okay by tomorrow," he added.

HOW WAS THE CLIMB?

Robert revealed that he did not reach the top of the GT tower, saying there was more than a meter away from the peak.

During the climb, the climber said he defended his actions to authorities.

"I said, Look, 'I'm just climbing a building, I'm not killing anybody, it's not a bank robbery,'" he said.

When asked why he did so, Roberts said he just wants to make people happy.

"I see thousands of people inside the building. I did brighten their day. They will remember that their whole life," he said. "I am entertaining people for free in the district."

Robert has climbed a number of the world's best-known skyscrapers, including the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur and Dubai's 828-meter Burj Khalifa.

A CNN report previously said Robert has been arrested around 120 times for similar stunts since he began climbing buildings 20 years ago.

Robert said he hopes to attain his goal of climbing 200 buildings before he "retires."

Watch his interview here: