Thief blew up 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
This story came from The Standard website. The Standard is an Australian newspaper printed by the Fairfax Group.
A BUMBLING petrol (gasoline) thief was lucky not to be killed after using a cigarette lighter to help him see in the dark, Warrnambool Magistrate's Court was told yesterday.
Magistrate Angela _____ said she hoped Daniel ______, 18, of Castlecarey Road, Boorcan, did not plan on "taking up a life of crime".
"You are not sufficiently good at it to take it up as a career option, " she said.
______ faced the court on charges of attempted theft and going equipped to steal after he and a co-defendant tried to steal a quantity of petrol from a ute, which had been parked and left unattended.
Police prosecutor Senior Constable Paul ____ said the pair were trying to remove the petrol from the ute but lit a cigarette lighter to "see what they were doing" causing the petrol to ignite and the ute to blow up.
Defence counsel Vince ____ told the court the case had a "sense of comic relief about it".
He said his client stole the fuel because there were no service stations open in Terang on the night.
Mr ____ said _____ was a "very responsible lad" who was remorseful and had paid $500 compensation to the vehicle's owner.
"My client does not underestimate at all the seriousness of what has happened," he said.
_____was placed on a 12-month good behavior bond and was ordered to pay $300 to the court fund. No conviction was recorded.
(Surnames have been removed). Submitted on 05/26/2002
Submitted by:
D.C. Watson
Reference:
The standard, May 25th 2002
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