Getting what is sometimes termed as 'nine winks' led to a month in a jail cell, as The STAR reported on Thursday.

Leonard Williams, 37 years old, of Johns Hall, was employed as a security guard when he fell asleep and the .38 pistol he was issued with went missing on June 25. He is lucky that he woke up at all, as he could easily have been killed, even with the weapon that he was carrying, as he slept on duty.

He is fortunate that the judge, in admonishing him and sending him home, took into account the fact that he had already spent a month in the lock-up as the social enquiry report was prepared.

Carrying a firearm is, of course, a serious responsibility, not only in terms of using it but also losing it, as happened in this case. In a country with a high crime rate many will naturally want to have the ability to fire back legally, but there is a strong possibility that the possible repercussions from owning a licensed firearm are not considered.

Williams was, of course, careless, but night jobs, especially those where a person is on their own for long periods of time, are especially tedious. We would suggest that not only security guards but every person who carries a firearm legally would do well to keep this incident in mind. We do not know what has become of the gun and can only hope that it will be recovered at some point.