short answer a Flashcards
What is meant by the following terms referred to in section240(1)(b)of the Crimes Act 1961 a) Debt
b) Liability
Debt means money owing from one person to another.
Liability means a legally enforceable financial obligation to pay, such as the cost of a meal.
Where a person has been induced to part with goods by deception, what are two steps he can take to avoid the deceiver’s title
Take all other possible steps to bring it to the Offender’s notice, e.g. by writing a letter
Advise the police that the goods were obtained by deception.
To successfully prosecute a person on a charge of (using altered or reproduced documents with intent to deceive) under section 259 of the Crimes Act 1961, name three mental elements you must prove:
Firstly, the defendant must know that the document had been altered with intent to deceive.
Secondly, the defendant must have intended by the employment of the document, or by causing another to use or rely on it, to obtain by deception any property, privilege, service, pecuniary advantage, benefit or valuable consideration or to cause loss to any other person.
Thirdly, there must be an intention to acquire or retain the property etc, or to cause loss, “by deception”.
How is the term (representation) interpreted (not defined) by the courts. State the relevant case law in your answer
This is not defined. Examples have included representations about a past or present fact, about a future event, or about an existing intention, opinion, belief, knowledge or other state of mind. It must be capable of being false so it must contain a proposition of fact: Simester & Brookbanks, Principles of Criminal Law, 2007, p702.
An offender knowingly presents to the retailer an item with two price tags for different amounts, aware that the higher amount is the correct price, he shows the lower price to the checkout operator and obtains the item for the lower price. He is apprehended by Police some two days later for this offence
a) What offence has the offender committed
b) Who has title to the item obtained by the offender
a) Obtains by Deception
b) Title would belong to the Offender which has been obtained by deception.
The prosecution must establish either that the defendant knows or believes his representation is false in a material particular, or is reckless as to whether it is false. State your understanding in relation to the term (false in a material particular)
The prosecution must establish either that the defendant knows or believes his representation is false in a material particular, or is reckless as to whether it is false. A minor detail may amount to a “material particular” if it is of consequence to the facts of the case. The question of materiality will be assessed objectively.
Material particular is not defined in the Crimes Act and can be given its usual meaning of an important, essential or relevant detail or item.
Investigations into company fraud complaints will usually involve enquiries with the Ministry of Commerce. State four possible sources available there:
·Registrar of Companies.
·Companies Office.
·Official assignee. ·Insolvency Services.
a) What ‘knowledge’ must an accused person have to be liable for making a false representation b) How can ‘knowledge’ be established?
a) The Accused must know or believe that it is false in a material particular, or be reckless whether it is false. Absolute certainty is not required and wilful blindness as to falsity of the statement will suffice.
b) Knowledge can be established by:
An admission
Implication from the circumstances surrounding the event
Propensity evidence (see page 39).
The term computer system is defined in s248 of the Crimes Act 1961. State the definition
computer system means: (i) A computer; or
(ii) 2 or more interconnected computers; or
(iii) Any communication links between computers or to remote terminals or another device; or (iv) 2 or more interconnected computers combined with any communication links between
computers or to remote terminals or any other device; and
(b) includes any part of the items described in paragraph (a) and all related input,
- Propensity evidence may be relevant in some deception cases. When may evidence of
propensity be called in cases of deception
Propensity evidence, whether on previous or later occasions to the offence charged, is admissible in cases of deception where there is a sufficiently strong connection between the offences.
