The Frenchman's lawyer Wong Kian Kheong said Robert was only driven by his passion, and was neither doing it for profit nor publicity.

"Public interest is not served by sending to Malaysian jail a person whose only fault is to climb buildings," the counsel said.

Robert was arrested on Tuesday after his successful third attempt to reach the peak of the 88-storey Petronas Twin Towers with nothing but his bare hands.

The avid climber donned no safety gear or harness, speedily making his way 452 metres up to the pinnacle at about 8.30am on Tuesday morning after a two-hour climb.

Robert, who was brought to court wearing a turquoise jacket and jeans, pleaded guilty to criminal trespass when the charge was read out to him.

The 47-year-old had attempted to conquer the country's tallest building twice — in 1997 and 2007 — and was stopped by police midway through his endeavour on both occasions.

In arguing against a jail sentence, Wong submitted that there was no case law imposing custodial sentences on first-time offenders while noting that Robert had no previous conviction in Malaysia.

"There was no injury to the complainant, no damage to the towers, no harm to the public.

"For this climb, (Robert) has been incarcerated for a day. The one day could, and should, be considered as a sentence," Wong said.

Criminal trespass, under Section 447 of the Penal Code, is a crime punishable by up to six months in jail or a fine of up to RM3,000, or both.

Wong said Robert needed to return to France to seek medical attention as he was certified by the French authorities as being 60% disabled.

The lawyer then tendered a copy of Robert's e-ticket for a flight back to Paris, via Singapore, on Sept 7.

Robert has undertaken not to climb any more buildings in Malaysia and as such, there was "no more risk of repetition of offence", Wong said.

Wong then proposed a RM2,000 fine, which he said was the amount Robert could raise, given he had no fixed income.

The lawyer also said Robert was "not a man of means" considering he had three children aged 16, 19 and 22, and a wife who worked as a secretary.

According to Wong, Robert had previously trained the Malaysian fire-fighting team and French special forces and regularly speaks at charitable functions.

Deputy public prosecutor Shahshita Mohd Hanifa argued that Robert should be given a harsh sentence as a lesson and a deterrent, adding that Robert could have harmed himself and the public.

In delivering the guilty verdict, magistrate Siti Shakirah Mohtaruddin said no jail term would be meted out given that this was Robert's first offence and that he had no previous conviction.

"I exercise my discretion in imposing a RM2,000 fine in default two months' jail," she said after a brief hearing today.