There was a theft from a warehouse of a valuable lorry load of high value, namely, whisky. It was held on appeal that the defendants’ system of protection was not adequate in relation to the special risks involved and the value of the chattel bailed, and that even though they had contracted with competent third … Continue reading British Road Services Ltd v Arthur V Crutchley and Co Ltd (No 1): CA 1968
Directors are required to disclose their interests in contracts with the company: ”It is not contended that [the] section in itself affects the contract. The section merely creates a statutory duty of disclosure and imposes a fine for non-compliance. But it has to be read in conjunction with article [85]. The first sentence of that … Continue reading Hely-Hutchinson v Brayhead Ltd: 1968
Crown Privilege for Documents held by the Polie The plaintiff probationary police constable had been investigated, prosecuted and cleared of an allegation of theft. He now claimed damages for malicious prosecution, and in the course of the action, sought disclosure of five documents, but these were withheld on the ground of Crown privilege. The House … Continue reading Conway v Rimmer: HL 28 Feb 1968
The ship owners had not been paid two months of charter hire due to them, so the master took the cargo. The cargo did not belong to the defaulting charterer, however, but rather to an innocent third party. The insurance clause provided that ‘it is . .
The expressions ‘constructive trust’ and ‘constructive trustee’ are ‘nothing more than a formula for equitable relief. It is the actual control of assets belonging beneficially to a company which causes the law to treat directors as analogous to . .
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The appellant pleaded guilty to six offences of furnishing false information, contrary to the Theft Act 1968. She was committed to the Crown Court for sentence under the 2002 Act, with a view to a confiscation order being considered. She had made . .
The court considered whether a driver had teken a vehicle without the owners consent, and having had that consent for one purpose, continued to use the car beyond that purpose: ‘[n]ot every brief, unauthorised diversion from his proper route by an employed driver in the course of his working day [would] necessarily involve a ‘taking’ … Continue reading McNight v Davies: 1974
The defendants appealed their sentences after findings of guilt for blackmail, arising from their activities as wheel clampers. The judge said that blackmail is an ugly, serious offence. Both of the appellants knew full well what they were doing. He described how they dealt with motorists in an arrogant, bullying and abhorrent manner. Held: The … Continue reading Havell, Regina v: CACD 10 Mar 2006
The court considered whether certain conduct, part of which took place in Ghana, would, mutatis mutandis , have constituted an offence over which the English court had jurisdiction. Held: ‘Where a deception is made in this country, but the property is obtained outside the jurisdiction, there is no offence under the English law either under … Continue reading Governor of Pentonville Prison ex parte Khubchandani: QBD 1980
Citations: [1993] Crim LR 788 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Regina v Duru CACD 1974 The defendants were accused of involvement in mortgage frauds perpetrated on a local authority. The advances were made by cheque, and the defendants were charged with obtaining the cheques by deception. The principal question … Continue reading Regina v Mitchell: CACD 1993
Citations: [2003] EWHC 351 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Theft Act 1968 8 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 20 November 2022; Ref: scu.184984
The appellants had pleaded guilty to an offence of burglary. The building was a dwelling, but the though the indictment did not refer to that element, they had been sentenced on the basis that it was a dwelling. After plea, the judge had vacated the plea and redrawn the indictment. Held: The appeals failed. There … Continue reading Love and Another, Regina v: CACD 13 Feb 2013
The prosecutor appealed the acquittal of the defendant on a charge of allowing himself to be carried in a vehicle taken without the owner’s consent. The driver had been convicted on his own admission, and the prosecutor had presented only the certificate of conviction. Held: The memorandum of conviction went beyond being only evidence that … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Parker: Admn 12 May 2006
There was no privilege against self incrimination in a civil action for a fanciful fear of criminal charges. Citations: Times 16-Jan-1996, Independent 10-Jan-1996, [1996] 3 All ER 244 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 21(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Phillips v Mulcaire SC 24-May-2012 The claimant worked as personal assistant to a well … Continue reading Renworth Ltd v Stephansen and Another: CA 10 Jan 1996
A previous conviction involving dishonesty was not evidence that an act of receiving by a defendant was dishonest on this occasion. Citations: Times 19-Oct-1993, Ind Summary 11-Oct-1993 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 27(3)(b) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Evidence, Crime Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.86585
An aggravated vehicle taking indictment must specify which offence is being prosecuted. Citations: Times 21-Oct-1994, Gazette 11-Jan-1995, Ind Summary 21-Nov-1994 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 12A(2)(b) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Practice Updated: 26 October 2022; Ref: scu.86261
The deception required as an element of the offence of obtaining a pecuniary advantage by deception, could be constituted by acquiescence, where there could properly be said to be a continuing representation, under which the person deceived had acted. The defendant had obtained a grant for his mother’s house whilst she was alive to assist … Continue reading Rai, Regina v: CACD 29 Oct 1999
The appellant obtained loans enabling him to buy cars by giving false information when entering into hire purchase agreements. The relevant agreement did not contain all the prescribed information and was improperly executed so that by virtue of section 65 it was only enforceable on the order of the court. The appellant had been convicted … Continue reading Regina v Modupe: CACD 1991
A charity collector must hand over what he has collected to the Charity (Lewis v Lethbride distinguished). Citations: Ind Summary 01-Nov-1993 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 5(3) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Charity, Crime Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.88233
When money had been received on a trust to send to a stakeholder but was misappropriated, the money still belonged to the payer, and a prosecution for theft was correct. This was different from cases where money was spent for the purposes stated. Citations: Times 19-Nov-1998 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 5(3) Jurisdiction: England and Wales … Continue reading Regina v Klineberg; Regina v Marsden: CACD 19 Nov 1998
The Court asserted the need for a simplification of the law of Theft. The law still required consideration of arcane terms such as choses in action. Citations: Ind Summary 13-Jun-1994, Times 27-May-1994 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.86796
The obtaining of a self employed post as an accountant by deceit constituted the obtaining of a pecuniary advantage. Citations: Gazette 03-Jun-1992 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 16(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 25 October 2022; Ref: scu.86269
The maker of a statement need not be the person who creates a statement. It may be the person on whose behalf the statements are asserted as true is the maker. Here a police report based on the defendant’s false statements as to the date of a burglary were admitted as evidence in a case … Continue reading Regina v Derodara: CACD 16 Jul 1999
Prosecutor’s appeal by case stated against dismissal of charge of taking vehicle without the owner’s consent. Officer’s fleeting sight of defendant who was known to him driving. Citations: [2006] EWHC 1523 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Theft Act 1968 12(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Bracegirdle v Oxley and Cobley 1947 The facts proved … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Uddin: Admn 8 Jun 2006
In 2009 Baroness Uddin was interviewed by the Metropolitan Police with regards to whether she had committed an offence under the Theft Act 1968 or the Fraud Act 2006 in claiming Parliamentary expenses. In March 2010 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced that having considered the case carefully it had concluded that there was insufficient … Continue reading Crown Prosecution Service (Decision Notice): ICO 23 Feb 2011
Lord Lane LCJ said: ‘Bearing in mind the observation of Edmund Davis LJ in Warner (1970) 55 CAR 93, we would try to interpret the section in such a way as to ensure that nothing is construed as an intention permanently to deprive which would not prior to the 1968 Act have been so construed. … Continue reading Lloyd and Another, Regina v: CACD 23 Apr 1985
The defendants had been accused of theft. One switched labels on a joint of pork in a supermarket, and the other presented the meat with the now cheaper label for purchase. Held: The appeals were dismissed. There can be no conviction for theft unless all four elements contained in section 1(1) are proved; (b) for … Continue reading Regina v Morris (David); Anderton v Burnside: HL 2 Jan 1983
The defendant appealed his conviction for obtaining property by deception where part of the offence had taken place abroad. Held: Smith should be overturned. The last act or terminatory theory remains the binding common law of England and Wales. The correct rule was that before an English court could try an offence it was necessary, … Continue reading Regina v Manning: CACD 24 Jun 1998
On a charge of false accounting, the dishonest document was a claim form under an insurance policy. The judge told the jury, as is the case, that such a form would on occasion be looked at by the auditors of the insurance company. There was, however, no evidence to that effect. Held: Merely by looking … Continue reading Regina v Sundhers: CACD 23 Jan 1998
The defendants appealed against their convictions for falsifying a document used for an accounting purpose, namely a mortgage application form. They denied it was a document used for that purpose. The form was false in denying an existing mortgage in favour of a different lender. Officers of the lender gave evidence that the document never … Continue reading Regina v Sampson and Sampson: CACD 3 Apr 1998
Where a defendant holding a weapon did not himself enter the property, the proper charge is burglary and not aggravated burglary. The weapon must be carried by the offender at time of effecting entry to be committing aggravated burglary; having left it outside is not enough. Citations: Gazette 08-Jan-1998, Times 17-Dec-1997, [1997] EWCA Crim 3072 … Continue reading Regina v Klass: CACD 27 Nov 1997
A cheque drawn on funds which the defendant knew to have been mistakenly credited were not stolen when the cheque was drawn and sent to Scotland but on the presentation of the cheque to his bankers in England. Citations: Times 24-Jul-1997, Gazette 03-Sep-1997, [1997] EWCA Crim 1816 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 3 Jurisdiction: England and … Continue reading Regina v Sui Soi Ngan: CACD 11 Jul 1997
The defendants were convicted of a mortgage fraud. They appealed saying they had not been dishonest. They had signed forms, but they then had been completed by others, and that it had been those further replies which were dishonest. The original convictions had been for obtaining by deception, but those convictions could not stand following … Continue reading Regina v Dawson, Dawson: CACD 14 Jul 1997
New sentencing guidelines and standards were given for cases of theft by an employee or in breach of trust. There should be a reduction to account for inflation. 21 months for theft of 17,500 after a not guilty trial is the new benchmark. Citations: Gazette 10-Jun-1998 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 1 Jurisdiction: England and Wales … Continue reading Regina v Clark: CACD 10 Jun 1998
Guidelines for sentencing for theft for breach of trust were updated for inflation and to provide for consecutive sentences for theft. Citations: Gazette 14-Jan-1998, Times 04-Dec-1997 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 11 October 2022; Ref: scu.86389
The procuring of the signing of a valuable security when intending to treat the document as one’s own can amount to theft.Lord Justice Auld said: ‘In our view section 6 (1), which is expressed in general terms, is not limited in its application to the illustrations given by Lord Lane CJ in Lloyd. Nor in … Continue reading Regina v Fernandez: CACD 22 May 1995
The court reviewed sentencing levels for domestic burglary. Such cases must always be very serious, but individual cases varied almost infinitely. After a trial an adult defendant could expect a sentence of three years’ imprisonment for burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.Six appeals against sentence following pleas of guilty to offences of domestic burglary. Citations: Times … Continue reading Brewster, Regina v: CACD 27 Jun 1997
The court discussed when it was appropriate for the Court of Appeal to substitute other lesser convictions, after the main conviction had been declared unsafe. Held: After studying the authorities at length, the court felt that the various convictions should be quashed, but that in some cases there was a possibility of substituting verdicts of … Continue reading Regina v Graham, Kansal, etc: CACD 25 Oct 1996
An offence of deception of a company must include the deception of at least one authorised signatory. In this case a cheque was obtained by deception. Citations: Gazette 15-Nov-1995, Times 30-Oct-1995, Ind Summary 16-Oct-1995 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 08 October 2022; Ref: scu.87654
A theft of a credit balance was committed when the rights of an owner of the balance were assumed. Citations: Times 18-Apr-1997 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 08 October 2022; Ref: scu.86860
Four appeals and one renewed application for leave to appeal against sentence have been listed together to enable the Court to consider the proposal of the Sentencing Advisory Panel, in their advice to this Court in March 2001, that sentencing guidelines should be framed in relation to offences of handling dishonestly obtained goods, contrary to … Continue reading Webbe and Others, Regina v: CACD 2 May 2001
Section 17 is not to be reduced in the requirements of the offence. Knowledge of the purpose of a document is not an element required to be proved. Citations: [1981] 1 WLR 34, (1981) 72 Cr App R 60 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 17 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Regina v Graham, … Continue reading Attorney General’s Reference (No 1 of 1980): CACD 1981
On a charge of assisting in the disposal of stolen goods for the benefit of another, that other cannot be someone co-accused on the same charge. As a matter of plain language that other person must himself be a third party to the charge. Citations: Times 21-May-1999, Gazette 12-May-1999, [1999] EWCA Crim 1025 Links: Bailii … Continue reading Regina v Gingell: CACD 16 Apr 1999
The claimants appealed against dismissal of their claim for damages under the 1998 Act. The house had been searched under warrant. They said that the constable obtaining the warrant had acted on information he knew or ought to have known was false. The officer had acted on the basis of information provided through Crimestoppers, but … Continue reading Williams v Dyfed and Powys Police: CA 22 Nov 2010
The accused dishonestly falsified a number of insurance cover notes which were said to be documents required for an accounting purpose, namely, those of the persons who had sought cover and to whom the cover notes were forwarded. The accused ran his own maritime insurance business, obtaining instructions from a number of clients to place … Continue reading Regina v Manning: CACD 23 Jul 1998
Appeal by case stated against conviction for theft. Operating a cash register, he had been accused of making fraudulent refunds. Held: The evidence had been sufficient to support the conviction. Judges: McCombe J Citations: [2003] EWHC 375 (Admin) Links: Bailii Statutes: Theft Act 1968 1 7 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: 27 August 2022; … Continue reading Browbank v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 24 Feb 2003
The offence of causing death by driving while unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured, is committed if the driver is unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured and if the driving is a cause of death in the sense that it was ‘more than negligible or de minimis’. It was not an element of the offence that the defendant’s driving … Continue reading Williams, Regina v: CACD 2 Nov 2010
The defendant appealed against a confiscation order after his conviction for obtaining a mortgage advance by fraud. Though he had obtained 450k, the house he had purchased had increased considerably in value. The original loan had been repaid in full on a remortgage. The judge had made an order for confiscation at the now substantally … Continue reading Waya, Regina v: CACD 25 Mar 2010
The defendants were to be tried for allegedly sending funds abroad to support terrorism. The court now considered the meaning of the phrase ‘reasonable cause to suspect’ in the context of the anticipated use of the funds: ‘Does it mean that the accused must actually suspect, and for reasonable cause, that the money may be … Continue reading Lane and Another, Regina v: SC 11 Jul 2018
The defendant appealed against her conviction for aggravated vehicle taking. She was found near the scene of a road traffic accident involving a stolen car, and her fingerprint on an inside rear window. She submitted that the officers had asked as to her involvement at a time when she was already a suspect, and that … Continue reading Hughes v Director of Public Prosecutions: Admn 12 Oct 2009
Robbers who stole and sold preserved specimens from the Royal College of Surgeons’ collection were held rightly convicted of theft. The court considered the issue of ownership of a corpse: ‘We accept that however questionable the historical origins of the principle, it has now been common law for 150 years at least that neither a … Continue reading Regina v Kelly: 1999
The defendant appealed his convictions for offences relating to the claiming of benefits, saying that he was immune from prosecution as a member of the European Parliament, and that the verdicts were inconsistent with acquittals on other charges. Held: There had been no abuse of process in prosecuting the defendant whilst he was a member … Continue reading Mote v Regina: CACD 21 Dec 2007
A burglary became aggravated by an intent formed after the entry but before the theft. Citations: Gazette 13-Jan-1993 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 10(1)(b) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Practice Updated: 10 July 2022; Ref: scu.87045
The defendant appealed against his conviction on a charge of: ‘obtaining property by deception contrary to Section 15(1) of the Theft Act 1968 for that you on the 24th February 1971, in the County of Warwick dishonestly obtained from William Arthur Snell 6 gallons of petrol with the intention of permanently depriving William Arthur Snell … Continue reading Regina v Collis-Smith: CACD 30 Sep 1971
The defendant appealed against his sentence for attempting to pervert the course of justice and theft. He had received a sentence of six months for the theft and nine months consecutive for perverting the course of justice Held: Allowing the appeal. He had given a false name to the police on being arrested. It was … Continue reading Regina v Sookoo: CACD 20 Mar 2002
Appeal from sentence of 7 years six months imprisonment for an offence of aggravated burglary, contrary to section 10(1) of the Theft Act 1968, to which he had pleaded guilty at the plea and trial preparation hearing. Citations: [2019] EWCA Crim 1540 Links: Bailii Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 08 July 2022; Ref: … Continue reading Farrugia, Regina v: CACD 2 Jul 2019
An indictment had not been signed despite a clear statutory provision that it should be. The defects were claimed to have been cured by amendment before sentence. Held: The convictions failed. Sections 1(1) and 2(1) of the 1933 Act which provided for a bill of indictment (which had of itself no legal standing save as … Continue reading Clarke, Regina v; Regina v McDaid: HL 6 Feb 2008
The defendant appealed against her conviction for deception. A retailer had been deceived by her use of a bank card. Held: The appeal failed. In offering a cheque supported by the card, she was to be taken to be making a represention to the shopkeeper that she was authorised by the bank to draw the … Continue reading Regina v Kovacs: CACD 1974
The applicant sought his release from imprisonment where he awaited extradition to Germany. He was suspected of an offence of deception. He said there was insufficient evidence that the offence alleged would be an offence here. The alleged offence involved having misused the passwords of others, which was the deception of a machine. Held: Davies … Continue reading Holmes v Governor of Brixton Prison and Another: Admn 20 Aug 2004
The appellant had been convicted of false accounting in the making of false claims for payment for prescriptions, submitting forms which said that the patient was over 60 when she knew they were not. She said she filled the forms in mechanically. Held: The judge was correct. Counsel was wrong to concentrate on the mens … Continue reading Atkinson v Regina: CACD 7 Nov 2003
The defendants had been acquitted on the direction of the judge at trial, and the AG now appealed on a point of law, namely: ‘Whether on (a) a charge under section 3 of the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 and (b) a charge under section 17(1)(b) of the Theft Act 1968, where the accused has … Continue reading In re G and S: CACD 11 Jul 2002
The defendant was accused of burglary. He had followed a woman from a public house, entered her bedroom via a ladder and had sex with her. She thought he was her boyfriend. He denied entry as a trespasser with intent to rape, saying she had invited him in as he was about to enter the … Continue reading Regina v Collins: CACD 5 May 1972
Citations: [2017] EWCA Crim 317 Links: Bailii Statutes: Theft Act 1968 8(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Criminal Sentencing Updated: 04 June 2022; Ref: scu.584243
Once a case had been referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, the court had to make a declaration, even if the case was very old. The effect of the 1998 Act on statute law was not retrospective, but where it affected common law the effect could be retrospective, since … Continue reading Regina v Kansal, on a Reference From the Criminal Cases Review Commission (2): CACD 24 May 2001
A company director can be convicted of theft from his company even though the act might technically be the act of the company. Here company directors had paid bribes to people with whom the company intended to do business. The bribes were paid out of company funds and with the intention of benefiting the company. … Continue reading Regina on the Application of A and Snaresbrook Crown Court: Admn 14 Jun 2001
Appeal by case stated from conviction for dishonestly receiving stolen goods. Citations: [1997] EWHC Admin 34 Links: Bailii Statutes: Theft Act 1968 22(1) Crime Updated: 25 May 2022; Ref: scu.136979
K had been convicted of two counts of obtaining property by deception contrary to section 15 of the Theft Act 1968. He was also convicted of two counts under the Insolvency Act 1986, namely that being a bankrupt (a) he removed property which he was required to deliver up to the Official Receiver or his … Continue reading Regina v Kansal: CACD 24 Jun 1992
The defendant worked as a shop assistant. He had persuaded the manager to accept in payment for goods, two cheques which he knew to be stolen. The CA had decided that since the ownership of the goods was transferred on the sale, no appropriation of property belonging to another had taken place. Held: An appropriation … Continue reading Director of Public Prosecutions v Gomez: HL 3 Dec 1992
A woman befriending an older man of limited intelligence accepted daily cash payments from his building society over eight months, claiming them to be gifts. She now appealed against her conviction for theft. Held: (Lord Hutton dissenting) For the purposes of the Theft Acts the acceptance of a gift can constitute ‘appropriation.’ The word is … Continue reading Regina v Hinks: HL 27 Oct 2000
Offender is arrested when detained by automatic locking car trap. Citations: Times 02-Mar-1994 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 12A(2)(d) Crime Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.79836
The defendant had been charged under s 8(1) and s 25(1) of the 1968 Act with robbery and going equipped for stealing. A robbery had been committed and the accused were later found in possession of articles fit for use in a robbery. Held: Browne J said: ‘In our view, to establish an offence under … Continue reading Regina v Ellames: CACD 1974
Judges: Pitchford LJ, Sweeney J and HHJ Bourne-Arton Citations: [2014] EWCA Crim 829 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Cited – Hughes, Regina v SC 31-Jul-2013 Uninsured Driver Not Guilty of Causing DeathThe appellant though an uninsured driver, was driving without fault when another vehicle veered across the road. The other driver … Continue reading Taylor, Regina v: CACD 9 Apr 2014
Lord Lane CJ said: ‘the court should not be astute to find that a theft has taken place where it would be straining the language so to hold, or where the ordinary person would not regard the defendant’s acts, though possibly morally reprehensible, as theft.’ Judges: Lord Lane CJ Citations: [1981] 1 WLR 578, [1981] … Continue reading Dip Kaur v Chief Constable of Hampshire: 10 Oct 1981
The electronic transfer of funds moves no identifiable property capable of being the subject of a charge of obtaining property by deception. Citations: [1995] Crim L R 564 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 15(1) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Appeal from – Regina v Preddy; Regina v Slade; Regina v Dhillon (Conjoined Appeals) HL 10-Jul-1996 … Continue reading Regina v Preddy; Regina v Slade; Regina v Dhillon (Conjoined Appeals): CACD 1995
The defendant appealed his conviction for aggravated burglary, saying that the force used had been only after the theft. Held: The events were one continuing act. The court should aks ‘whether force used after the theft was complete could be seen as immediately before or at the time. The court said it was a continuing … Continue reading Regina v Hale: CACD 1978
The defendant, a student, was accused of theft after he obtained a draft of a paper for his forthcoming engineering exam. It was accepted that the paper itself had not been appropriated. The prosecutor appealed dismissal of the case, sayng that he was guilty of the theft of intangible property within section 4. Held: information … Continue reading Oxford v Moss: QBD 1978
The defendant appealed her conviction for theft. She had involved herself in the sale of an elderly relatives house and arranged for a new house to be bought in her and another name. Held: Hilton was to be distinguished. There, the defendant had carried out a clear act of misappropriation. Here the owner had been … Continue reading Regina v Briggs (Joan): CACD 12 Dec 2003
Damage caused after the taking of a car need not be at the fault of the driver defendant for the offence of aggravated vehicle taking to have been committed by him. The sole requirement of the subsection was that the driving of the vehicle should have been the cause of the accident.It was not legitimate … Continue reading Regina v Marsh: CACD 19 Jul 1996
There is a clear distinction between the appropriation which is an element of theft, and the obtaining in an offence of deception. In this case the defendant had over-billed for worked, and was accused of theft in respect of the presentation of the cheques given in payment of his bills. The case of Preddy did … Continue reading Regina v Williams (Roy): CACD 25 Oct 2000
The defendant had been refused a loan by his employers. He took the money anyway from the till and repaid it. On discovery he was charged with theft. He denied that he had been dishonest. He had always intended to repay it and had done so. He appealed from a direction from the judge that … Continue reading Regina v McIvor: CA 1982
A council tenant treating the council’s doors as his own, and regardless of the council’s rights, steals. Moving fixtures between a Landlord’s properties was still theft. It amounted to using the fixtures ‘as his own’. Citations: Independent 04-Jun-1993, Times 02-Jun-1993 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 6(1) Crime Updated: 08 May 2022; Ref: scu.80027
The plaintiff gave the defendant a cheque for andpound;40,000 with which to buy a house for P. D applied the money to his own purposes, and P claimed. The defendants were required to swear affidavits setting out full details of the whereabouts of money which the plaintiff alleged had been stolen from him. D sought … Continue reading Khan v Khan: CA 1982
The plaintiff film companies accused the defendants of pirating their films. They obtained Anton Piller orders which required the defendants to permit the plaintiffs to enter their premises to inspect and remove any unauthorised films, and three defendants were to disclose: (a) cassette supplier and customer details; (b) invoices; and (c) the whereabouts of pirate … Continue reading Rank Film Distributors v Video Information Centre: CA 1980
Meaning of dishonesty under the 1968 Act. Citations: [1976] 1 All ER 1, [1975] 1 WLR 1353 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Explained – Regina v McIvor CA 1982 The defendant had been refused a loan by his employers. He took the money anyway from the till and repaid it. … Continue reading Regina v Greenstein; Regina v Green: CACD 1975
The defendant was a company officer. He gave instructions to an innocent third party which resulted in the dishonest diversion of substantial sums of the company’s money. He appealed the judge’s interpretation of the word ‘appropriation.’ Held: The meaning of appropriation still had its difficulties. If there is an intention on the part of the … Continue reading Regina v Shuck: CACD 1992
The offence created by section 1(1) of the 1968 Act involved four elements: ‘(i) a dishonest (ii) appropriation (iii) of property belonging to another (iv) with the intention of permanently depriving the owner of it.’ Judges: Megaw LJ Citations: [1970] 3 All ER 933, [1970] 3 WLR 1103, [1971] 1 QB 373 Statutes: Theft Act … Continue reading Regina v Lawrence (Alan): CACD 1970
Two men were charged with theft from a company which they wholly owned and controlled. The court considered the actions of company directors in dishonestly appropriating the property of the company, and whether since the title to the goods was transferred, the goods had remained the property of the company. Held: The actions of the … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No. 2 of 1982): CACD 1984
The defendant, presented himself as a contractor, and was instructed to collect and deliver consignments of goods from three different places. Having collected the goods he made off with them. He faced one count of theft in respect of the three consignments. He appealed his conviction. Held: There had been no appropriation until the last … Continue reading Regina v Skipp: CACD 1975
Two defendants worked together to alter the labels on joints of meat in a supermarket, and to present the one with the now reduced price at the till. The appealed convictions for theft saying that since the purchase transferred the property in the meat to them, no appropriation had taken place within the section. Held: … Continue reading Regina v Morris (David): CACD 1983
The defendant was an assistant shop manager. He accepted two cheques which he knew to be stolen from a customer in exchange for goods, by persuading the manager that the cheques were valid. He was accused of theft of the goods. He answered that a sale had been made, and the property transferred to the … Continue reading Regina v Gomez: CACD 1991
The court was concerned not to extend the Theft Act to include as thefts activities which many people would not consider to be such: ‘the court should not be astute to find that a theft has taken place where it would be straining the language so to hold, or where the ordinary person would not … Continue reading Kaur v Chief Constable for Hampshire: CACD 1981
An employee had made a secret profit by selling his own goods on his employer’s premises, thereby breaking the terms of his contract of employment. Held: The moneys the employee received from his private customers were not received on account of his employer within the meaning of section 5(4), that the profits made by the … Continue reading Attorney-General’s Reference (No 1 of 1985): CACD 1986
US Treasury social security orders were stolen in the USA, and brought to London, where they were endorsed at a bank for payment in the USA. Held: On those facts the ‘acceptance’ of the bills could only have taken place in the USA, and therefore there was no jurisdiction to try charges of execution of … Continue reading Regina v Nanayakkara: CACD 1987
The defendant had reconnected his electricity meter after it had been disconnected by the supply company for non-payment of bills. Held: The defendant’s beliefs as to his honesty were crucial to the decision whether he was honest or not. Citations: [1978] 2 All ER 1061 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Crime Updated: … Continue reading Boggeln v Williams: 1978
The defendants were accused under both the 1981 Act or the 1968 Act of use a false instrument with intent to defraud. They had been acquitted after a ruling from the judge that it was necessary for the prosecution to prove lack of entitlement in the defendant of what was sought to be obtained. The … Continue reading Attorney General’s Reference (No 1 of 2001): CACD 11 Jul 2002
The trial judge had held that a telex message requesting payment of andpound;960,000 had been ‘executed’ because it had been put into effect. Held: A valuable security was not executed when the drawer’s bank acted upon the cheque, or request for payment. There was required to be an act with respect to the face of … Continue reading Regina v Kassim: HL 19 Jul 1991
In cases alleging corporate fraud it is necessary to look very carefully at the nature and limits of the authority before considering whether the questioned transaction is in truth a transaction authorised by the company. Citations: (1988) 88 Cr App R 385 Statutes: Theft Act 1968 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Cited by: Cited – Director … Continue reading Regina v McHugh: CACD 1988
The appellant, in Kuwait, had fraudulently caused a bank there to credit his bank balances in England. Held: The court discussed its jurisdiction: ‘It is of course a basic principle of our criminal law that no British subject can be tried under English law for an offence committed on land abroad, unless there is a … Continue reading Regina v Thompson: 1984
Stolen travellers’ cheques were cashed in France and then presented through normal banking channels to a bank in England. The first and main ground of appeal was that no offence had been thereby committed within the jurisdiction of the Crown Court, because the ‘execution’ of the valuable security, by its ‘acceptance’, had taken place in … Continue reading Regina v Beck: CACD 1984
