16 replies to this topic

[Beowulf]

SCANDAL OF THE £20K BANANA

Aug 20 2004
Fury over waste of cash on court case
By Jeremy Armstrong
 
A DRUNK was hauled through the courts at a cost of £20,000 - for eating a stolen BANANA.

And last night politicians and legal experts hit at the scandalous waste of time and money after 26-year-old Paul Fletcher was jailed for ONE DAY at Newcastle crown court.

Government adviser Lord Mackenzie said: "Common sense has gone out of the window."

THE case of the stolen banana was finally resolved yesterday at a cost of £20,000.

And almost everyone agreed it had been a complete waste of time and taxpayers' money.

It all started when Paul Fletcher, 26, admitted handling stolen goods by eating the banana nicked from an Indian takeaway by a friend.

But he refused to plead guilty to the burglary charge levelled against two pals who were with him and chose to go for trial by jury.

He finally walked free after five court appearances - two before magistrates and three at crown court. And last night the decision to prosecute him was slammed as potty.

Lord Mackenzie of Framwellgate, a former police superintendent and Government adviser on crime, said: "This is over the top. It's more of a prank than a serious burglary. It seems common sense has gone out of the window."

Fletcher's solicitor Paul Norman said his client offered to admit handling on his first appearance before magistrates but the CPS chose to continue with the burglary charge. Newcastle crown court was told one of Fletcher's friends helped himself to a bunch of bananas at the Royal Tandoori in South Shields on March 21.

He later threw one of them away - and Fletcher admitted picking it up and eating it. Fletcher, from Gateshead, was sentenced to ONE DAY in jail - but freed because he had waited most of the day for the case to be dealt with.

Judge Esmond Faulks told him: "One day is to mark the seriousness of handling a banana.

"That means your immediate release - and that means no more bananas."

Burglary charges against his friends were dropped after they admitted theft. Euro MP Martin Callanan said last night: "This case was a shocking waste of public money."

But a CPS spokeswoman said: "The defendants exercised their right to be tried by a jury."

Fletcher, an unemployed father of one, said: "It should never have gone this far. They even raided my house when they arrested me. I don't know what they expected to find - maybe the peel."

[Daz]

God I love our legal system.

[Detail]

Only capatalists would care more for money, than for law an order

[Hostile]

Should have just returned the turd as a slightly used banana...

[darknes53]

Someone really wanted their banana...

[Beowulf]

I just thought the whole thing was hilarious. I mean come on, it's a fuckin banana ffs.

[darknes53]

Yeah, it was really late/early when I posted, okey?
It's really funny that anyone can cost the gov money, just cause someone wants a trial...
Run the country out of money if everyne does it!

[Tom]

HA HA HA OMG I love this. Was that in the US or UK. If in the UK i understand it. Our law system is fucked. You can get done for being 1mph over the speed limit but not for Bulgary. If you get Bulgaled the cops don't care.

[chemical ali]

Same here my grandard dosnt belive in parking tickets........

[Beowulf]

Hybrid, it was the in the UK. The US isn't that fucked up yet.

[dancam]

Whats bulgary? Sounds like a form of racism to me..

[Pasidon]

I guess some people go bananas about money.

[Plokite_Wolf]

I went bananas on that 9-year necropost

[Radspakr Wolfbane]

That shit is um...can't remember the word it has like repeating letters or something oh I know that shit is Cabana, right?

Edited by Radspakr, 13 December 2013 - 03:00 AM.

[Pasidon]

That's so Meta.

 

And I got bored and saw this topic, and thought a banana joke was due.  I

[Beowulf]

Goddammit, Pasidon. Stop being such a dweeb.

[Pasidon]

Well no one else was talking about anything interesting.  You only have yourselves to blame that the 20 K Banana beat you all.