Six months jail for diving for golf balls

[Scubaroo]

A man was jailed for 6 months in the UK after he was caught diving for golf balls at a golf course. Read the article. Bit hard to understand why such a severe sentence IMO. Maybe the judge was a bad golfer???

 

[Welshman]

Yes, this made the front page of the local rag, the Birmingham Post since the course is not far away. Does seem a bit steep but he would have known that he needed to ask the Club's permission since quite often the Pro will lift the balls from a lake or pond and sell them in his shop.

Anyway the taxpayer now has the privilege of paying around £20k to keep him in the nick for 6 months. You'ld have thought they could think of a more appropriate sentence which kept him working , earning and paying tax.

 

[Walter]

He's a thief. He is going on private property and stealing golf balls. Golf courses hire divers to collect balls. A friend of mine dives for balls for a living. He works for a company which contracts the service to golf courses. Here in Florida, he has to dive with gators in very low viz. Fun job!

 

[Welshman]

Since my earlier post I located the article. The point I'd forgotten was that he was caught at night. He said he wasn't stealing because he declared the income he earned to the Tax Authorities. However, taking the balls under cover of darkness rather gives the game away.

I still would rather he'd been punished in a way that as a UK taxpayer doesn't cost me money.

 

[jbd]

I agree with Welshman. The sentence is over kill for the offense. The exception would be if the guy has a criminal history and the judge is now trying to convey a message.

Maybe the courts could have confiscated all of his diving gear and fined him 1,000 pounds sterling.

 

[brendanrtw]

I heard of addicts stabbing people for a few measly pounds and getting left off. This is completly wrong. They could have issued a warning or fined him for tresspassing, but six months is a bit steep for a first offence.

 

[Welshman]

The report didn't say whether he had a criminal record but this is typical of us Brits - we have an obsession with property. This has never been better demonstrated than during the Second World War. It is apparently true that a Cabinet minister objected to the commencement of bombing Germany on the grounds that it would damage property!

As Brendan says we see instances of people committing crimes of violence and being let off with fines, probation etc. there's an example in today's Birmingham Post - drunken fan at a pop concert head butts someone, breaks their nose and gets a £500 fine and a Community Service order.

 

[jbd]

The same kind of stuff happens on this side of the Atlantic.

 

[scubaleg]

We live in the desert. Many golf courses have been built into the landscape. My father golfs at least once a week, and "occasionally" hits a ball or two (or twenty!) off of the course and into the desert landscape. When he goes looking for his ball, he typically finds a few others in the vicinity. He keeps them, or gives them away to his friends and family. In fact, he's given me several. . .
YIKES!!!! This makes me an accessory!

Justice is a funny thing (funny meaning peculiar in this case!)

 

[The Chairman]

sub par performance by the magistrate... I think he sliced this one! I would give him the birdie for such a water hazard. You have to admit, the guy had balls...