sentencing a habitual criminal.

Claiming Bermuda has not treated its "underprivileged'' people as well as it helps disaster victims abroad, Mr. King convicted Andrew Gavin Arorash of stealing and released him on a 24-month conditional discharge.

Arorash, 29, is living at the Salvation Army shelter in Pembroke and is well known to the courts and Mr. King.

He admitted he stole two cans of corn from the MarketPlace supermarket on Church Street on May 28. Junior Crown counsel Veronica Gordon said staff at the store checked a security tape after seeing two open cans of corn worth $21.36 in the store's car park. Staff reported seeing a white man in the restricted area on the video tape.

Police later identified the man as Arorash and caught up with him on Wednesday. While under questioning by Police he cooperated fully and said he sold the corn and bought food for himself.

It was later established that Arorash entered the storage area through a hole in a fence left unattended.

Arorash complained he had tried to not commit crimes since being released from prison recently, but said: "I get out of jail and I ain't got nothing. I feel like doing something nasty, but I don't.'' "I don't do it for a long time, but eventually I have to do it,'' he said.

"I never disrespect anybody. I just happened to see the opening.'' Alluding to Arorash's drug problem, Mr. King said "certain things do not respect colour''. He added: "But I like you for your honesty when it comes to telling the truth.'' "This is a classic example of the problem facing street people in Bermuda who end up in and out of prison,'' Mr. King said. "No job, no home, nothing.'' "There has to be some acts of social conscience applied not only to people in the Caribbean or Kosovo,'' he continued. "This country has not been kind to the under privileged and it can do better.'' Mr. King did not activate a three-month prison sentence that was suspended on March 30 nor did he act on a conditional discharge imposed on May 5 for similar offences.

After Arorash was taken away, Mr. King said: "It is cheaper for the public to find a fellow like that a job and a place (to live) than to keep him in prison for $44,500 a year.''