Who’s Naughty …

Now here’s a story that sweetly illustrates the concept of the punishment suiting the crime. It was even self-inflicted!

Burglar, not Santa, found stuck up a chimney in Australia

Published: Friday, December 28, 2007 | 1:30 AM ET

Canadian Press: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SYDNEY, Australia – It wasn’t Santa Claus but a would-be burglar rescue workers found stuck up a chimney in central Australia on Friday.

Staff at the Gapview Hotel in Alice Springs heard a man groaning when they arrived for work in the hotel bar and called the fire department. The man had been stuck inside the chimney for about 10 hours with his knees jammed tightly into his chest, said local fire station officer Mark James.

“He was like a grub in a cocoon when we found him,” James said.

“He was really wedged in there.”

Firefighters and ambulance officers spent 90 minutes trying to free the man before finally removing part of the chimney with jackhammers.

“Imagine being in the tightest ball you can (make) and being in that position for 10 hours,” James said.

“He was pretty embarrassed and ashamed, so he didn’t say much when we got him out. He was obviously feeling sore and sorry for himself.”

The man’s identity was not immediately released and it was not clear if he would be charged with any offence.

Is it still the right thing if you do it for the wrong reason?

Probably. Guess it doesn’t matter if you figure God, Big Brother or all your peers are watching if it prompts one to go in the right direction! We need more heros.

Worried about how he’d look on YouTube, NJ donut shop employee clobbers thief

Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | 8:26 AM ET

Canadian Press: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ELMWOOD PARK, N.J. – When a thief started taking cash from his register on the weekend, Dunkin’ Donuts employee Dustin Hoffmann fought back by clobbering the man with a ceramic mug.

But Hoffmann admits he was less worried about the stolen cash than how he might look on the video-sharing site YouTube.

“What was going through my mind at that point was that the security tape is either going to show me run away and hide in the office or whack this guy in the head, so I just grabbed the cup and clocked the guy pretty hard,” Hoffmann told The Record of Bergen County.

The man came into the shop and ordered a pastry Sunday night, according to Elmwood Park Police Chief Donald Ingrasselino.

Once Hoffmann opened the register, the man jumped over the counter and started taking cash.

Police said Hoffmann grabbed the man’s wrists while hitting him with the mug, which is used to hold tips. Hoffmann managed to scare away the man, who made out with just $90 and left behind a baseball cap police are holding to test for DNA evidence.

No arrests have been made. Hoffman plans to post the surveillance video when he can.

“There are only a few videos like that on YouTube now, so mine’s going to be the best,” he said. “That’ll teach this guy.”