WESTERN BUREAU — Michael Perkins, an electrical welder who lives in St James, learned this week that it was folly to tell a lie inside a court of law.

The 23-year-old man, who is charged with unlawful possession of property, told the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate’s Court this week that he had no prior convictions, despite having been released from prison only last week.

He is now languishing behind bars, waiting for his sentence for this most recent offence to become effective.

The police report that on July 30 Perkins was seen walking on the Salt Spring Road in the parish with a bag filled with bathing soap. When the police approached him and asked where he had got the bag of soap, he said a man named Dave had given it to him to take to his brother in North Gully.

When the police checked with Dave, however, he said this was not so and the accused man was arrested and charged.

When he appeared before the court this week, while he pleaded guilty to the charge, he repeated his claim that the bag of soap had been given to him by Dave.

When asked by RM Valerie Stephens whether he had any previous convictions, he responded ‘no’, and the RM proceeded to hand down her sentence.

She fined him $8,000 or three months imprisonment.

But immediately after the sentence was handed down, the court sergeant informed the RM that Perkins did in fact have a previous conviction.

A rather sheepish Perkins confirmed this fact.

“Your honour, me come from prison last week,” he said, eliciting laughter in the courtroom.

RM Stephens subsequently ordered that the sentence be postponed until later this month.