A Polish guest worker who altered the price of a packet of cheese to buy it for $3 cheaper has been fined for theft.

"That cheese now costs you $300!" Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo chided Tomasz Pawel Obal as he doled out the fine.

Crown counsel Larissa Burgess told the court the correct price for the packet of Kraft cheese slices in question is $6.39. However, the store manager at MarketPlace, Hamilton, saw Obal changing the price tag to $3.49 on November 28.

He then watched the defendant pay the reduced price for the cheese — but the correct price for all the other items in his basket.

When Obal exited the store, the manager followed him, said Ms Burgess, "and asked him if he had left his cheese behind".

The Police were called, and the 27-year-old culprit, from Market Lane, Pembroke, was arrested. He handed over the cheese and the cash register receipt, pleading: "Please give me a break."

He pleaded guilty to the crime when he appeared before Mr. Tokunbo, who also handed him a further fine of $1,000 for a separate matter — using a vehicle without insurance in March 2005.