Dear Sir,

I am aggravated today to say the least. On March 31, there was an article in the paper telling of a man caught illegally dumping who went to court and got off with no fine! Are you serious?

He dumps trash illegally, is reported by a concerned citizen, is consequently caught, goes court and pleads guilty, and basically is let off with not even a slap on the wrist.

We have wasted the time of the Police, our courts, the staff of the courts and a surely high paid judge, and the offender doesn’t even get a fine.

Illegal dumping “is” a problem on this Island, and our clean country is one of the few things that we have left so I expect that when someone is caught, they should be taught a lesson.

How is it that one can simply forget to put on a seat belt, totally innocently, be pulled over by the police and be given a $50 ticket, but illegal dumping gets no fine?

Or how about the $50 ticket for mistakenly not displaying your parking pass.

Surely if these infractions are worth $50, then conscious and deliberate illegal dumping is worth more than that. Even the judge’s wasted time alone must have been worth several hundred dollars. And what did this judge really teach the offender who was caught, and all the others that have not been caught?

I will tell you that you taught them nothing. It seems that they gave the offender a gold star for pleading guilty and sent him on his way with appreciation.

I would like to suggest that (magistrate) Mr Tokunbo take part in the next KBB clean-up day so that he may develop a greater sense and appreciation for the importance of Bermuda’s beauty and what it takes to clean up after these offenders. Your decision to simply warn this offender was inadequate and ridiculous.

SALROM, Southampton