POLICE are checking the authenticity of a viral video that supposedly showed two foreigners trespassing into the Merdeka 118 building, said Kuala Lumpur deputy OCPD Deputy Comm Yahaya Othman.

He said they would be seeking assistance from the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to determine if the Russian couple had indeed climbed the world’s second tallest building.

“We are working with the MCMC to verify the authenticity of the video.

“We are also in the midst of getting the immigration records of the foreigners,” he told reporters during a New Year’s Eve operation on Jalan Loke Yew in Kuala Lumpur today,” he was quoted as saying in news reports.

Photographs of the purported climb by Ivan Beerkus and Angela Nikolau were uploaded on the Internet and re-shared on social news aggregator Reddit on December 28.

It immediately raised questions about security at the building.

Kuala Lumpur deputy police chief Deputy Comm Yahaya Othman confirmed that a report had been received on the matter.

He said that Bukit Aman had received one report on the matter.

Yahaya said the police were not ruling out the possibility that the video was digitally modified by the couple.

“The Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) management informed us that the tight security at the tower would have prevented anyone from entering, let alone climbing it.

“However, we will wait for the outcome of the investigation after consulting the MCMC and the Immigration Department,” he was quoted as saying. –  January 1, 2023.