Theft Flashcards
define theft
the unlawful and intentional appropriation of the property of another which is capable of being stolen
common law crime
what are the elements of theft
appropriation
property capable of being stolen
unlawfulness
intent
describe a continuing crime
crime continues for as long as the thief or a party to theft remains in possession of property therefore can be tried where found
describe the case of S v Cassim
the accused was convicted of 9 counts of theft in court a quo after being found selling new clothes and initially said clothes belonged to their daughter
the search of the house revealed she had large quantities of goods with price tags from well-known retailers
it was clear that husband and her could not afford
on appeal, she contented that she merely sold goods given to her by her husband but she never knew about the theft
the court held it made no difference that she may not have been involved in the original theft.
by her involvement in disposing of goods made her just as guilty as the original thief
describe the appropriation element of theft
assumption of control by x of y’s property
not req that thief actually handles thing
factual question: at what point does the owner lose control and the thief gains control
describe what happened in the case of S v Makula
in S v Makula
accused held a bottle of whiskey under their clothes with intention of stealing
the security guard spotted him and he attempted to go put it back but dropped it and the bottle broke
convicted of theft
In review conviction was altered to attempted theft. owner has been excluded from property and offender should have assumed control of stolen item
owner through a security guard maintained effective control over whiskey
describe the Property capable of being stolen element of theft
property must be capable of being moved
what happened in the case of S V Graham
in S v Graham
the accused had been convicted of theft after the company received a cheque that was mistakenly sent by the debtor for an account that had already been paid.
the accused knew this but still paid the cheque into company’s account with the intention of paying it back later (after dealing with companies commitments)
the court held that he had the intention to steal
the court also held that although it was not corporeal cash, it was capable of being stolen and theft occurred when the cheque was deposited in the bank account
therefore the money is capable of being stolen where its not corporeal cash but represented by a credit in the books of account
describe the unlawfulness element of theft and the defences for it
the taking must be against the owner’s will
defences include
consent
presumed consent
de minimus rule
public authority
describe the intent element of theft
there must be intent to steal and permanently deprive the owner of their property or control over property and knowing its unlawful to do so
describe what happened in Riba v S
the accused and police officer, failed to enter stolen goods in a police register
the court held that conduct of accused and his co accused strongly indicated intent to appropriate goods in question
the court rejected explanations for late entry into relevant register of complainents good that were seized earlier
there was intention to permanently deprive owner
describe what happened in the case of S v Sibiya
appellant and other were employed at a garage, they had taken a parked car from the garage for a joy ride. They intended to return car but they crashed in a ditch on the side of the road. Both still at the scene when the police arrived
appeal set conviction aside: the law reqs that thief should have intended to terminate owners enjoyment of rights
the court found that unauthorised borrowing was no longer a crime
What does section 1(1) of the GLAA state about unauthorised borrowing
it is now a statuorty crime
known as unlawful appropriation of the use of anothers property
if the person removed property without consent of another person
and has no reasonable grounds to justify the appropriation
he may be convicted for theft
