Three schoolboys were placed on probation and fined yesterday after getting caught up in motorcycle thefts.

Two of the youths - who cannot be named - aged 14 and 15, had admitted both attempting to steal, and then the actual theft of, a motorcycle in February this year.

Both of the youths, from Pembroke, were accompanied in court by a parent and apologised for their behaviour, promising never to do it again.

But Magistrate Tyrone Chin said he planned to punish the boys, so they would really feel the consequences of their actions. The third youth, also 15, but from Devonshire, appeared in Juvenile Court along with the boys accused of receiving a stolen motorcycle from them.

Mr. Chin placed them all on probation for a year, which includes random drug testing and a curfew between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. on week nights, and 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. at weekends, unless they are with responsible adults, as approved by their parents.

The Pembroke teens were fined $150, and the Devonshire teen was fined $100 for his part. Mr. Chin told their parents that all of the fines had to be paid out of the boys' summer job salaries. And he said it was not meant as a light punishment.

He said social inquiry reports had revealed that all three boys were severely lacking at school, and had bad attendance records, although all had shown some improvement since they appeared in court in May.

And he reminded each of them that life was about making good choices, and the choices they had made so far had been poor. Mr. Chin said the fact that two of the accused had gone into court still nursing injuries from motorcycle accidents, told him that perhaps they were making bad choices and taking risks.

Mr. Chin said: "We have three young defendants, all under the age of 16, and two of you have (motorcycle) injuries. What does that tell you?

"I collect old bikes. I have six of them, so I know all about this passion you have for bikes, but you have to know what the limits are."

Each of the parents said they had few problems with their sons at home, and one of the mothers criticised her son's school for failing to inform her that he had not been attending as he should have been.

The mother of the Devonshire boy added: "I know he is very remorseful for what happened. The school situation - absenteeism - I'm a little upset because the school has never contacted me and never let me know.

"I dropped him off at school every day and then at the end of the afternoon he would turn up at my job. I didn't know anything about it."