A magistrate tells him there's no need to cry but the repeat petty thief on the low-definition prison video screen can't stop.
Perched on a blue seat in a cramped prison room, Phillip John Murphy sobbed for minutes as he apologised for his latest crimes, stealing and fraud committed while already on parole for similar offences.
Whispered side conversations stopped as his amplified words echoed around the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
"I'm happy to be here," he said, of the overcrowded Woodford Correctional Centre north-west of Brisbane.
"I know that doesn't sound right but that's how it is.
"I eat three meals a day, I've got a bed to sleep in and I've got a TV to watch.
"As bad as that sounds, it's true."
In July last year he pleaded guilty to more than 50 offences, mostly fraud-related but also including drugs and stealing, following on from a rap sheet that dated back at least two more years. He received a two-year jail sentence.
The 52-year-old admitted he had screwed up again.
But he also took a swipe at the justice system for failing to better support him on his release from jail.
The convicted thief said he ended up homeless, "on the bones of me arse". He asked three times to go to rehab but there were no spaces available, the court heard.
"I need rehabilitation. I've never done rehab in my life, your honour," he said.
A Queensland Corrective Services spokeswoman would not comment on individual cases but said it offered a range of interventions for prisoners and a recent parole review would deliver more.
"For offenders in custody, particularly the significant numbers of prisoners with a history of illicit substance use, the sweeping reforms will deliver a system of end-to-end case management to better prepare offenders for parole, with increased availability of rehabilitation programs, including substance abuse treatment and access to opioid substitution treatment across the state," she said, in a statement.
On April 6, while on parole for what magistrate Elizabeth Hall described as "many more" similar offences, he walked into the Rydges Hotel in Fortitude Valley.
Murphy told the court he had meant to apply for a job. Instead, high on paint and amphetamines, he stole the head chef's wallet, spending close to $300 at a newsagent and liquor store.
"I've got no other excuse, I'm 100 per cent sorry for what I (did)," he said.
"I was out of my f---ing head, out of my mind.
"I didn't want to do it. I did it because I had nothing else. I didn't have a bed to sleep in that night."
Murphy was sentenced to two years in jail from July last year but was eligible for parole from October.
His remorse, which police also noted on his arrest, had an effect on Ms Hall, who declined to add any time to his sentence.
He was convicted of the new offences – stealing and three counts of fraud for using the credit card – but his two-year sentence would be served at the same time as his existing time.
He'll have a suspended sentence hanging over him for another year on release.
"I accept your early plea of guilty and I accept you're remorseful. I think everyone accepts you're remorseful. The police accepted it right from the beginning," Ms Hall said, adding a request for Murphy to make the most of her decision.
"Remember today, remember your remorse, remember your tears, remember your feelings from today."
Murphy cried again.
"Thank you very much," he said.
"You've been very lenient with me today, your honour. Thank you very much."