Australian law student thief caught in getaway cab

SYDNEY - A law student who used taxis to escape with loot from dozens of house break-ins has been jailed after police in Australia caught him red-handed in the back of a cab fleeing his latest heist.

When not studying for a masters degree in law, Phillip Ryan See, 27, used his off-time to rob 43 houses in Sydney's plush harbourside suburbs, netting goods worth more than A$110,000 ($127,000), the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper said on Thursday.

See, who once worked as a legal assistant in a government law office, would load plasma televisions, cameras, jewellery and laptop computers into the boot of a taxi after each raid.

But when a surprised home-owner discovered See during a midnight burglary, police arrested the would-be legal eagle escaping in the back of another taxi.

During a search of See's flat, police found one of their own uniforms stolen during another break-in.

See was jailed for four years and nine months after the judge accepted he had a psychotic disorder.

- REUTERS