boxer Frederick Thomas will be sentenced on September 7.

But Shannon Dwayne Julian Tucker slammed the justice system yesterday not only for the nearly four-year-old conviction, but also for how Police handled evidence in a separate drug matter for which he thought he was appearing.

The assault conviction, for which Tucker was never sentenced, has been under appeal for the past four years.

But Tucker, 24, of 3 Broken Hill Lane, Smith's Parish, yesterday told Senior Magistrate Will Francis his case was "a set-up'' and complained he had been told it was over.

"It's all a set-up. This is all because Freddie Thomas is a well- known person,'' Tucker said.

Tucker -- who was 20 at the time of the assault -- was convicted by then-Magistrate Cheryl-Ann Mapp in July 1996 for the October 24, 1995 attack on Mr. Thomas in Devil's Hole, Smith's.

In July 1998, Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux overturned Mrs. Mapp's ruling, saying she had not followed proper procedure in explaining which facts she had held to be true and false.

But in March of this year, The Court of Appeal ruled Mrs. Mapp's arguments were clear and restored the conviction.

Mrs. Mapp found Tucker guilty of beating and throwing a bottle at Mr. Thomas outside the Harrington Workmen's Club.

Club president Mr. Thomas testified he was punched and kicked by Tucker and had his head split open when the bottle and a piece of metal was thrown at him.

Yesterday Mr. Francis told Tucker the file had been returned to the lowest court, having come "full circle''.

Tucker also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and drug equipment. But he claimed a digital scale found in his home on June 19 had tracings of cannabis on it because Police put it in the same evidence bag as a hand-rolled cannabis cigarette.

"Everybody who weight trains in Bermuda has one of those!'' Tucker said.

"Everybody. You can buy them downtown, your honour.'' He added: "They found a splif of weed. I admit that. But can I have my scale back? They put it in the same bag as the weed.'' But Mr. Francis would have none of it and said the scales were drug equipment.

Police had entered Tucker's mother's home at 5.50 a.m. on a search warrant and found .635 grammes of cannabis, Rizla cigarette papers and the scale.