Cries of "praise God'' and "God is great'' could be heard from the court gallery as the Chief Justice finished handing down suspended sentences.

But he told Dwayne Robert Young, 28, and Reid Charles Dean Robinson, 31, that "the matter was in their hands''.

"If you are genuine about changing your lives, society will benefit but if you backslide it means you will be the loser,'' he said.

Young and Robinson hugged each other after learning that they had each received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

At an earlier hearing, Robinson pleaded guilty to assaulting Harry Charles and thereby doing him bodily harm on March 28, 1993, and receiving property that was unlawfully obtained.

Young pleaded guilty to stealing Charles' wallet that contained eight dollars, also on March 28.

Defence counsel Ms Elizabeth Christopher called Mr. Neville Smith, to testify on behalf of her client.

Mr. Smith, who is pastor of the Radnor Road Christian Fellowship, said that while his church did not condone Robinson's actions, it was important to balance punishment with rehabilitation.

"It's important that he is not just a punished person,'' he said. "He must also be a changed person.'' Crown Counsel Mr. Khamisi Tokumbo questioned whether Smith was in a position to say whether Robinson had made a genuine change since he only saw him at church over a mere six months.

But Mr. Smith, while admitting that it was possible for Robinson to have deceived him, maintained that he thought his intentions to amend his ways were sincere.

Mrs. Christine Atcheson, who is the director of a Christian rooming house where Robinson went to live seven months ago, said that Robinson had become a "born again'' Christian and she believed he had made a genuine change.

"At the house there are several workers who live at the facility and are there 24 hours a day and seven days a week,'' she said.

"It would be difficult for him to keep up an act for so long.'' She said that sending Robinson to prison would only undo all the work that had been done with him for the past six months.

Instead, she urged the court to release him to the care of His House -- the Christian rooming home she directed -- where they could continue the work they had already started.

However, Mr. Tokumbo said that such a move would not be sufficient as a punishment.

Mrs. Atcheson replied that Robinson had already been imprisoned several times and it had not worked.

Defence lawyer Mr. Archie Warner said that this was the first time his client had been convicted of stealing as all of his previous convictions involved cheques and fraud.

He argued that a "substantial discount'' should be given to Young because he pleaded guilty, played no part in the violence, and had made a full and frank confession to the Police.

"My client is 28 years old and he's on his last legs,'' Mr. Warner said.

"He's HIV positive and he needs all the support he can get.

"Mrs. Atcheson has already confirmed that Casemates does not have the proper services to give people who are HIV positive the proper emotional support that is available in the wider community.

"It would be an injustice and a hardship to incarcerate this man and deny him one final chance to regain his self respect.''