Saving of 20c costs man four months in jail

Saving on the 20c cost of using a public toilet resulted in a man getting a four-month jail term.

Judge Con O’Leary imposed that sentence on Ciarán Callanan, of 61 Monastery Avenue, Monastery Hill, Cork, at Cork District Court, earlier this week.

Callanan pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the door of a toilet at North Main Street Shopping Centre.

Garda Shane Coakley responded to a call to the centre on July 17, 2017.

A security man told Garda Coakley the accused had kicked in the door of the public toilets the previous day and had smashed a pane of glass in the door.

The guard viewed CCTV footage and observed a man walking up to the toilet door, which could only be opened with a coin.

The CCTV showed the accused going to the door, trying to open it, and turning around to face the opposite direction and then back-kicking the door. This caused a glass panel in the door to shatter.

The accused pleaded guilty to causing the criminal damage.

Judge Con O’Leary imposed a four-month prison sentence on the accused.

The 23-year-old had 99 previous convictions.

The bill for the repair of the door came to €170.