A man, who pleaded guilty to stealing toothpaste and a bar of soap, was sentenced to 30 days imprisonment at hard labour when he appeared in the Corporate Area Resident Magistrate's Court, yesterday.

Charged with simple larceny is Leroy Smith. The police, however, believe the accused man's real name is Garth Ranger.

The court was told that on the day in question, Smith went to a supermarket and removed two family sized Colgate toothpaste and a bar of Cascade soap. He was held by the security guards who called the police.

When the matter was mentioned, Smith told the court that this was about the third time he was stealing. He said, "this time, the officer lock mi up."

He then attempted to be his own lawyer, asking the judge, "Could I get a fine?".

When that was denied, he tried again. "Could I ask for a suspended sentence?"

Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown then asked him how much time he wanted to spend in custody. After some deliberation, he said 20 days. This was, however, increased to 30 days.