‘Spider-kid’ is not an urban legend; it’s the nickname given to a Jakarta tween who has a knack for making headlines by climbing tall structures without any safety equipment, like when she climbed the Ancol entrance monument last year.
Spider-kid, whose real identity is 14-year-old Fitri Aulia, was at it again when she climbed a 30-meter high transmission tower while it was raining in Ciputat, South Tangerang yesterday afternoon.
Fitri made it all the way to the top.
Her mother, Sumarni, said Fitri climbed the tower out of an itchy frustration.
“She gets like this when she’s upset. She had difficulty sleeping last night because there were so many mosquitoes at home,” Sumarni said, as quoted by Metro TV yesterday.
Sumarni, along with members of the police and the fire department, begged Fitri to come down for some time but were careful not to be too forceful as they didn’t want to upset her further, which could lead her to take other drastic actions.
Thankfully, Fitri eventually climbed down by herself after listening to the pleas of a firefighter.
Fitri has climbed numerous transmission towers in the past, including one in Tomang and another in Pamulang. In fact, in 2011, she broke her leg when she fell from a transmission tower in Tambora, West Jakarta. She was only 10 then.
