Faced with a decision between being locked out of her house, or incurring a hefty bill to break her door open, a Malaysian woman chose neither.

Instead, she hired a crane to lift her up onto the balcony of her apartment on the fourth floor.

Electronic lock malfunctioned

Tammy Ng, who lived to tell the tale, uploaded a video of the crane giving her lift home onto Facebook.

The 40-year-old getai singer's stroke of genius caught the attention of people online, amassing over 3,000 likes and 600 comments on Facebook as of the time of writing.

Ng told China Press and The Straits Times that the electronic lock to her apartment in Selangor malfunctioned at around 2pm on Jan. 21, 2024. To make matters worse, she had left the master key inside her apartment.

Breaking door down was apparently the only solution

She contemplated engaging a locksmith, but was apparently told that the only solution was to break down the door.

In doing so, Ng would not only have to pay RM800 (S$226) for the demolition, but cough up another RM2,000 to RM3,000 (S$566 to S$850) to replace the damaged electronic lock and the fire-rated door.

Faced with a difficult, and potentially costly, decision, Ng was all out of ideas until she saw someone nearby who was on a crane trimming trees.

Inspired by nearby crane

Struck by inspiration, Ng called a crane rental company and the rest was history, as evidenced in her video, where she could be seen waving at the camera from her apartment's balcony.

Ng told China Press the RM500 (S$141) that she paid to hire the crane was a "bargain" as compared to breaking her door.

She added that it was her first time riding a crane, and said the experience was "cool".

Not recommended

Most individuals commended Ng for her quick thinking in the comments section.

But some individuals warned that Ng's idea could not only be against the law, but could also be dangerous, where one wrong move could be the difference between life and death.

On her part, Ng shared that her idea of using a crane was only viable as her apartment was on the fourth floor and nearer to the ground.

Top image from Tammy Kin Nee/Facebook