Two men yesterday pleaded not guilty to the charge of unlawful possession when it was read to them by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court.

It is alleged that on March 14 at Georgetown, 48-year-old Rudolph Singh, a painter of 145 James and Cooper Streets, Albouystown and Neil Ramsaran, 44, a waiter of 2 Bel Air had in their possession 135 energy-saving bulbs reasonably suspected to have been stolen or unlawfully obtained.

According to Singh, “My Worship, a man give we a lil wuk fuh carry de boxes from Regent Street to Campbellville an we de glad fuh de money, suh we tek de wuk.”

Singh further told the court that they were stopped by a van load of police officers on their way to Campbellville. “While we going to Campbellville, my Worship, we get stop by police in a van an deh ask we wah we get in de boxes an when we tell them we we self ain’t even know, deh carry we an lock we up. We try fuh mek a lil money and end up in de lock up.”

The magistrate asked the defendants how it is that they did not know what it was that they were asked to transport. They maintained, however, that they were just glad that they had gotten the job and didn’t bother to check the cartons.

They explained also that when they took the police to the place where they had been given the boxes, the man was nowhere to be found.

Singh and Ramsaran pleaded with the magistrate to be lenient. Singh lamented, “My Worship, even if is lil community service wuk, cause we ain’t thief nothing.”

The defendants were placed on bail in the sum of $10,000 each and their matter was transferred to Court Six for March 27.