A painter who admitted swallowing evidence against him while in custody was fined yesterday for obstructing a Police investigation.

Michael Douglas, 30, of St. George's, pleaded guilty in Magistrates' Court to trespassing and obstructing Police, but the trespassing charge was dismissed.

According to Crown counsel Takiyah Burgess, Police were called to the St. George's Cricket Club on September 27 after staff reported seeing Douglas playing football on the site, despite receiving a notice warning him not to attend the property. Police arrested Douglas and took him to the Southside Police Station. Once there, officers searching him found a cigarette box containing a paper twist, which was found to have a small amount of brown dust inside.

Officers told Douglas that they had reason to believe the dust was a controlled substance, but Douglas charged forward and grabbed the twist. During a brief struggle, Douglas swallowed the twist while officers used captor spray to detain him.

While Douglas pleaded guilty to both charges, he told the court that he had never received notice that he was banned from the cricket club. "I just came out there to play some football, and the cops came and arrested me," he said. "If I knew about the letter, I never would have gone out there. Why would I jeopardise my freedom by going to play soccer?"

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner asked Ms Burgess to produce proof that the notice was served to Douglas, but she said she did not have it in the court at the time. Mr. Warner dismissed the trespassing charge against Douglas, but fined him $250 for obstructing an officer.