Caught red handed

New Zealand -- A young Masterton man caught red-handed putting grafitti on a building in central Masterton was taken back to the scene of his crime by police and made to clean up his handiwork.

And as if that punishment was not enough, Ashley Harden Hemi, 19, had to face a dressing down from an aunt who passed by and saw him scrubbing the walls.

Senior Sergeant Warwick Burr said Hemi was writing on the walls of the Printcraft building at 6.40pm on Sunday when he was picked up by a police patrol. He was charged with wilful damage and taken back to the building, where police stood by as he cleaned. Soon after, Hemi's aunt pulled up in a car and demanded to know what he had done.

"She gave him a right dressing down so he certainly brought plenty of attention on to himself."

Hemi appeared in Masterton District Court yesterday and was convicted and discharged.