to have his three-year prison sentence for "stealing a $1 cup of soda'' reduced.

Mervyn Wilbur Smith, who represented himself, argued that the sentence was harsh and excessive.

But before he began, the Hon. Mr. Justice da Costa warned Smith that if he persisted with the appeal, his sentence may be increased.

"You have run almost the gamut of crimes,'' Mr. da Costa said as he looked over Smith's criminal record. "You hold contempt for law in this country.

You've been getting off lightly. But you have absolutely no respect for people's property. So it is for you to make up your mind. But it is a real danger you face.'' Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr. Justice Ward sentenced Smith, an admitted drug addict, in May to three years in prison for breaking and entering Sandys Boat Club in February, and a year for possession of an instrument used for housebreaking.

The case was sent to Supreme Court for sentencing after a magistrate convicted him of the two charges.

But yesterday Smith said he was not in his "right frame of mind'' when he pleaded guilty to the charges in Magistrates' Court. Insisting that he found the club door open and just took a cup of club soda, he said he did not have time to represent himself "fairly''.

"I understand my record is deplorable,'' Smith said. "I've had a problem with drug addiction for a long time. I think my disregard for the law, as you call it, is due to this.'' Interrupting, Mr. da Costa said drug addiction is no excuse. "It is not a mitigating factor,'' he stressed. "It is an aggravating factor.'' Smith said he also thought his sentence was unfair because there were others who committed more serious crimes and they received the same sentence.

"There are chaps that have been given three years for breaking into tourist accommodations and taking $20,000 worth of items,'' Smith said. "All I'm up for is taking a cup of club soda worth $1.

"I'm not saying I want a break. I'm asking where's the justice.'' Smith, who said he has been on drugs since he was 11 years old, said he cannot get assistance for his problem at Casemates or at Addiction Services.

"Being in Casemates does not assist my problem,'' he said. "I'm trying hard to assist myself. But I do not have the tools in prison to do this.

"I know I'm the problem. I'm just asking the law to give me some way of dealing with myself.'' Smith said an overseas drug rehabilitation programme is probably what he needs.

He said three years in prison will make him "more negative'' because he reads about others who are given the same sentence for committing more deplorable crimes.

"All my record tells me is that somewhere along the way, at an early age, I was given the short end of the stick,'' Smith said. "I do not know the law but I do want to insist that there is some sort of injustice about the consistency of how sentences are meted out.'' Handing down the court's decision, Mr. Justice da Costa said: "We're of the opinion that the sentence of three years was a proper sentence for breaking and entering and stealing. It's far from being harsh and excessive.''