A man from Spalding, Clarendon, who recently came to Kingston in search of a job, was urged to go back to the countryside after he stole a pack of shrimp because he was hungry.

Shawn Peart pleaded guilty to simple larceny before Senior Resident Magistrate Glen Brown in the Corporate Area Magistrate's Court yeaterday. It is alleged that Peart went to a Super Plus Supermarket and stole a pack of peppered shrimp valued at $311.

Peart told the court that he was currently unemployed, but he could do "cooking work". RM Brown asked the accused if he was hungry when he was in Spaulding. Peart said he was not, because food was always available.

Following that response, RM Brown told him that he should remain in the countryside since food was readily available there. The accused, however, told the court that he was going back on the weekend and he would not return to Kingston unless it was under better conditions.

RM Brown fined him $2,000 or 10 days for the offence and warned him that if he was brought back before the court he would be sent to prison.