Dishonesty Theft and receiving

Question 1

CLCA s134(1)—THEFT (AND RECEIVING)

Answer 1

134—THEFT (AND RECEIVING)

(1) A person is guilty of theft if the person deals with property—
(a) dishonestly; and
(b) without the owner’s consent; and
(c) intending—
(i) to deprive the owner permanently of the property; or
(ii) to make a serious encroachment on the owner’s
proprietary rights.

Question 2

What does “Deals with” include?

Answer 2

Deals with;
Deals with property in any other way; or
(a) takes; or
(b) obtains; or
(c) receives; or
(d) converts; or
(e) disposes.

Note:
“deals” incorporates receiving within the scope of dealing – how they came into
possession of the property. (Actual possession; physical control of the item vs
Constructive possession; having control of the item to the exclusion of others eg.
Stealing a camera and keeping it locked away in a locker).

Question 3

Define the element “Takes”

Answer 3

‘takes’ means get possession of; take and carry away; involves actual physical
movement of the property

Question 4

Obtains

Answer 4

obtains’ means to come into possession of property; get, acquire or procure
goods into that persons control.

Question 5

Receives

Answer 5

‘receives’ means assume possession of property; perform an act which transfers the goods into that persons control, with the intention of controlling the goods.

Question 6

Retains

Answer 6

‘retains’ means keep in custody or under control, keep hold or possession of. It is
possible to dishonestly retain property that has come lawfully into one’s
possession.

Question 7

Converts

Answer 7

‘converts’ means to change something of different form or properties; divert from
the proper or intended use; to appropriate wrongfully for one’s own use.

Question 8

Disposes

Answer 8

‘disposes of’ means to pass into the control of another person; part with; get rid of.

Question 9

Receiving when to charge

Answer 9

*If it is not able to be proven that the person in possession of the stolen property is the person who committed the actual theft, then it may be inferred by the mere possession of stolen property and absence of reasonable explanation that they
had the necessary knowledge that the property was stolen, therefore they can
be charged as Receiving

Question 10

Property *

Answer 10

Property;
Real or personal property, including;
(a) money
(b) intangible property (including things in action) (eg trademark, export
quota but confidential information isn’t property. Things in action = money
in a bank account where the thing stolen isn’t the actual money but the
debt owed to the account holder)
(c) electricity
(d) tame or captive wild creatures

Question 11

Dishonestly

Answer 11

Conduct is ‘dishonest’ if the person acts dishonestly:
(a) by the standards of ordinary people; and
(b) the offender knows it is dishonest by that standard

Question 12

Owner

Answer 12

Owner;
Ownership of property includes:
(a) entitlement to possession or control;
(b) a proprietary interest in property; and
(c) certain legal or equitable rights with respect to the property

Question 13

Make serious encroachment

Answer 13

Make serious encroachment 134 (2);
Intent to encroach seriously if the person intends:
(a) To treat the property as an owner, regardless of the owner’s rights ;or
(b) To deal with the property so as to create a known substantial risk;
a. That the owner will not get it back; or
b. That its value will be substantially impaired.

Question 14

Acronym

IVPAID DOC DOSER

Answer 14

I Identity
V Value

P Property
A Acted
I Intent
D Dishonestly

D Deals- takes, obtains, receives converts or disposes
O Owner
C Consent (lack of)

D Deprive owner permanently
O Or
S Serious
E Encroachment
R Rights (claim of and proprietary)

Question 15

SECTION 139—DECEPTION

Answer 15

SECTION 139—DECEPTION
A person who deceives another and, by doing so—
(a) dishonestly benefits him/herself or a third person; or
(b) dishonestly causes a detriment to the person subjected to the
deception or a third person,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty:
(a) for a basic offence—imprisonment for 10 years;
(b) for an aggravated offence—imprisonment for 15 years.

Question 16

Deception

Answer 16

deceive means to engage in deception;
deception means a misrepresentation by words or conduct and includes—

(a) a misrepresentation about a past, present or future fact or state of affairs; or
(b) a misrepresentation about the intentions of the person making the
misrepresentation or another person;
or
(c) a misrepresentation of law;

Question 17

Dishonest dealings with Document
S140(3) CLCA

Answer 17

(3) A person engages in conduct to which this section applies if the person—
(a) creates a document that is false; or
(b) falsifies a document; or
(c) has possession of a document knowing it to be false; or
(d) produces, publishes or uses a document knowing it to be false; or
(e) destroys, conceals or suppresses a document.

Question 18

Dishonest dealings with Document
S140(4) CLCA

Answer 18

(4) A person is guilty of an offence if the person dishonestly engages in conduct to which this section applies intending—

(a) one of the following:

(i) to deceive another, or people generally, or to facilitate deception of
another, or people generally, by someone else;

(ii) to exploit the ignorance of another, or the ignorance of people generally, about the true state of affairs;

(iii) to manipulate a machine or to facilitate manipulation of a machine
by someone else; and

(b) by that means—
(i) to benefit him/herself or another; or
(ii) to cause a detriment to another.

Question 19

CLCA S141(1)—Dishonest manipulation of machines

Answer 19

141—Dishonest manipulation of machines

(1) A person who dishonestly manipulates a machine in order to—
(a) benefit him/herself or another; or
(b) cause a detriment to another,

Question 20

CLCA S142—Dishonest exploitation of position of advantage

Answer 20

142—Dishonest exploitation of position of advantage
(1) This section applies to the following advantages:
(a) the advantage that a person who has no disability or is not so severely
disabled has over a person who is subject to a mental or physical disability1
;
(b) the advantage that one person has over another where they are both in a
particular situation and one is familiar with local conditions while the other is
not
.
(2) A person is guilty of an offence if the person dishonestly exploits an advantage to which this section applies in order to—
(a) benefit him/herself or another; or
(b) cause a detriment to another.
Maximum penalty: Imprisonment for 10 years.