Receiving Flashcards
List the elements of receiving stolen property?
Receives
Any property stolen
OR
Any property obtained by any other imprisonable offence
Knowing that property to have been stolen or so obtained.
OR
Being reckless as to whether the property had been stolen or so obtained.
Give an example of guilty knowledge?
Guilty knowledge on the part of the receiver is an essential element for the offence of receiving. Guilty knowledge may be proved by:
• Direct evidence; for example, evidence given by the actual thief. However, it is unwise to convict an alleged receiver on the thief’s uncorroborated evidence.
• Circumstantial evidence; for example:
− the receiver purchased the property at gross undervalue
− there are suspicious circumstances around the acquisition of the property
− the nature or amount of the property causes suspicion
− the receiver falsely denies having possession of the property
− the receiver concealed the property so that it could not be found
− the receiver’s general conduct in relation to the property
Explain when receiving cannot be committed?
If—
(a) any property stolen or obtained by any other imprisonable offence has been returned to the owner; or
(b) legal title to any such property has been acquired by any person,—
a subsequent receiving of it is not an offence, even though the receiver may know that the property had previously been stolen or obtained by any other imprisonable offence.
Explain the doctrine of recent possession?
If a person is found in possession of property that has recently been stolen, this is sufficient evidence to justify a finding that the possessor is either the thief or a dishonest receiver. The possession is accepted by the courts as
circumstantial evidence that the person either stole the property or received it from the thief.
This legal presumption is known as “the doctrine of recent possession”.
It puts the onus on the person found in possession of the property to provide an explanation for having it, or be charged with theft or receiving.
