The Dean

16:44 28May08 RTRS-Briton leaps off tallest tower,lands in Dubai court
DUBAI, May 28 (Reuters) - A Dubai court charged a British
man on Wednesday with creeping into the world's tallest building
under cover of darkness and parachuting off the 150th floor
without consent, in an effort to set a new world record.
At his initial hearing the 36-year-old pleaded guilty to
entering the Burj Dubai tower, which is still under
construction, hiding there for seven hours before climbing to
the 150th floor and jumping off.
The man was held by Burj Dubai security officials until
police were alerted and arrived on the scene on April 26, police
records showed. The court did not immediately disclose the name
of the Briton, who has been released on bail.
His lawyers say he faces up to a year in jail or a 5,000
dirham ($1,362) fine if convicted of trespass and jumping off
the building without the permission of the owner, the United
Arab Emirates' biggest developer Emaar Properties <EMAR.DU>.
"The Burj Dubai is the world's tallest building and is a
marvel of the world. I wanted to honour it, Emaar and Dubai by
jumping safely from it," the man told the local 7 DAYS tabloid.
"I'm a sportsman, not a criminal."
BASE jumping -- the acronym stands for Building, Antenna,
Span, Earth -- is a dangerous sport in which individuals
parachute off fixed objects such as tall buildings.
The paper said the Briton had come to Dubai specifically to
do the jump, which he carried out with a camera fixed to his
helmet.
Burj Dubai, in the UAE's trade and tourism hub of Dubai,
became the tallest building in the world in July, measuring
512.1 metres (1,680 ft), a title previously held by Taipei 101
in Taiwan. Emaar has not revealed how tall the building will be
when it is finished later this year.
BASE jumpers have also landed in trouble with police in
other cities, often for risking the safety of people and
property with their jumps.
(Writing by Lin Noueihed; Editing by Jon Boyle)
((Gulf newsroom, +971 4 391 8301

Blue Cat

I heard about this the other day! nutter eh

Coxy the Bear

I'd been waiting for this to happen for ages! Good on him, just annoyed I missed it!

pauldxb

Good man, well done, will he get a fine or go to prison what's the general consensus ????

Autonomy

quite funny http://www.basejumper.com/ is blocked...

obviously it's inconsistent with the religious, cultural, political and moral values of the United Arab Emirates.... or perhaps they're pissed that some one jumped off the Burj Penis....

Slingshot

the developer should be glad of the exposure it created
this is Dubai gone mad

twinkle-star

Is that fine right???
Seems too low to me...They should make an example of these idiots!
I mean to say jumping off things with no good cause....cant be right in the head!

Desert Rat

They should make it a national event with the worlds biggest prize money

twinkle-star

Worlds biggest splat pratt you mean.....