when his alleged victim failed to appear in court.

Harry Moniz, 21, of Slippery Hill, pleaded not guilty in Magistrates' Court on Tuesday to burgling the home of Jason Scott Gibbons on June 5, 1995 and stealing a cellular telephone, a leather jacket and a cassette tape. The items, worth $980, were all recovered.

Although two Police witnesses along with Crown Counsel Lesley Basden were ready to begin the trial, Magistrate Edward King dismissed the charges because the complainant failed to appear.

"If the complainant is not going to show up and face the music, then we can't dance,'' he said. "I am not going to adjourn this case any more. Let freedom reign. I may be firm, but I am fair.

"The defendant ought not to have this matter hanging around his neck any longer.''