A man who stole a mailbox in memory of his dead father, a postman, was jailed yesterday, after the court rejected his bizarre excuse.
The battered, rusted mailbox was taken to the court as evidence against Steven Briggs.
The owner, Nizam Bhaggan, valued it at $65.
The case played out before San Fernando Fourth Court Magistrate Alicia Chankar.
Bhaggan told police he was on his way to his home at Union Road, Marabella, last Sunday morning, when he saw Briggs ripping the mailbox off the gate.
Bhaggan said he followed Briggs and the box, trying to get it back, but Briggs pulled a 12-inch knife and kept him at bay. So Bhaggan reported the incident to police.
Briggs, 50, confessed to stealing the mailbox and being in possession of the knife. In his defence, he told the court the "my father was a postman" story.
However, Magistrate Chankar commented, "You have no right to take what is not yours."
Briggs was jailed for 90 days.
