Kidnapping

Question 1

Kidnapping

Answer 1

Section 209 (a) or (b) or (c), Crimes Act 1961

Question 2

Penalty

Answer 2

14 years

Question 3

Elements

Answer 3

1. Unlawfully
2. Takes away OR detains
3. A person
4. Without his/her consent OR with his/her consent obtained by fraud or duress
5. With intent to:
   a) to hold him/her for ransom or to service
   b) To cause him/her to be imprisoned or confined
   c) to cause him/her to be sent or taken out of NZ

Question 4

Unlawfully

Answer 4

Without lawful justification, authority or excuse

Question 5

R v Crossan

Answer 5

Taking away and detaining are “separate and distinct offences. The first consists of taking [the victim] away, the second of detaining them”

Question 6

R v Wellard – Takes away

Answer 6

The essence of the offence of kidnapping is the “deprivation of liberty couple with a carrying away from the place where the victim wants to be”

Question 7

R v Pryce – Detains

Answer 7

Detaining is an active concept meaning to “keep in confinement or custody”. This is to be contrasted to the passive concept of “harbouring” or mere failure to hand over.

Question 8

Person

Answer 8

Gender Neutral. Proven by judicial note or circumstantially.

Question 9

Consent

Answer 9

is a person’s conscious and voluntary agreement to something desired or proposed by another.

Question 10

R v Cox

Answer 10

Consent must be “full, voluntary, free and informed … freely and voluntarily given by a person in a position to form a rational judgement”

Question 11

Obtain consent by fraud

Answer 11

Consent obtained by the misrepresentation of the facts or the offenders intentions

Question 12

Obtain consent by duress

Answer 12

Consent obtained by actual or implied threat of force to the victim or another person. Can include other forms of pressure or coercion.

Question 13

Child under 16 years & consent

Answer 13

A child under the age of 16 years cannot consent to being taken away or detained
Sec 209A, Crimes Act 1961

Question 14

Intent

Answer 14

In a criminal law context there are two specific types of intention in an offence. Firstly there must be an intention to commit the act and secondly, an intention to get a specific result.

Question 15

R v Mohi

Answer 15

The offence is committed at the time of taking away, so long as there is, at that moment, the necessary intent. It has never been regarded as necessary…that the crown should show the intent was carried out

Question 16

Ransom

Answer 16

A sum of money demanded or paid for the release of a person being held capture

Question 17

Service

Answer 17

Hold as a servant or slave

Question 18

Confined

Answer 18

Restricting their movements to within a geographical area.

Question 19

Imprisoned

Answer 19

To be held as if in prison

Question 20

Sent out of NZ

Answer 20

Sent - normal meaning, to be sent outside NZ shores

Question 21

Taken out of NZ

Answer 21

Taken suggests victim in company or custody of a person accompanying them out of NZ