A Corporation of Hamilton sanitation worker who slapped a girl for insulting him has lost his job.A spokeswoman for the Corporation last night confirmed Michael Pond was no longer employed by the city, but would comment no further.Corporation Secretary Ed Benevides suggested Mr Pond’s was disciplined, but did not elaborate.“Mr Pond did not lose his job due to the court case,” said Mr Benevides, although he would not confirm it was unrelated to the incident reported yesterday.The Royal Gazette spoke to one Corporation employee who said Mr Pond had been fired, but could not give a reason for the sacking.Mr Pond was fined $2,000 in Magistrates’ Court after he plead guilty to slapping the teenager on June 22.He told the court he regretted the incident, but had “lost it” when the girl made disparaging remarks about his job and then his mother.A story about Mr Pond’s case in yesterday’s newspaper prompted a flurry of comments on our website and Facebook page.Most commenters appeared to sympathise with Mr Pond, with one woman even offering to help pay his fine.“I do not condone the man’s actions but I think the child was out of order and perhaps this will teach her never to be disrespectful again,” said one poster on our website.Many commenters said they were dismayed that Mr Pond had been fined while the girl went unpunished.One said: “Something is missing here. OK they fined the man, but did they ask the girl to apologise for her bad mouth?”Most, however, simply expressed their shock at the girl’s alleged vulgarity.One commentator said: “They say it takes a village to raise a child ... yet when the village steps in, it’s wrong.“If that was my child, she would have gotten another slap after I heard the story!”* If you want to comment on stories on our website go to www.royalgazette.com and register. You can also choose if you want to sign up for our daily email alerts.