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 v Flackett was not authority to say that a machine could not be deceived and an unauthorised access offence might have been charged in any event under the 1990 Act. Human beings were also deceived in this case, not just a machine. However ‘credited’ under the 1968 Act required an unconditional adjustment to the banker’s balance, and a correspondening debit of which there was no evidence here. However the credit became unconditional, and judicial note was taken that banks do not credit one account without another being debited. The charge of obtaining a money transfer by deception was made out. Theft was also made out.
Judges:
Mr Justice Henriques and Mr Justice Stanley Burntonzz
Citations:
[2004] EWHC 2020 (Admin), Times 28-Oct-2004
Links:
Statutes:
Extradition Act 1989 9(8)(a), Theft Act 1968 15A 15B, Computer Misuse Act 1990 2
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Davies v Flackett 1973
One cannot deceive a machine, since it does not have a mind. This may not be the case for the purposes of the Theft Acts. . .
Cited – Attorney-General’s Reference (No 1 of 1991) CACD 16-Jun-1992
cw Crime – Computer misuse – Unauthorised access – Person using one computer to obtain from it unauthorised benefit – Whether unauthorised use of single computer within statute – ‘Access to any program or data . .
Cited – Regina v Adebayo CACD 7-Jul-1997
The defendant had been employed in the probate registry, and sought by deception to conspire with others to use the information he obtained to obtain money from estates. He appealed, saying that the court should not have convicted him of obtaining . .
Distinguished – Attorney-General’s Reference (No 1 of 1985) CACD 1986
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 . .
Cited – Regina v Governor of Pentonville Prison, Ex Parte Osman QBD 30-Mar-1988
The applicant had been committed to prison pending extradition proceedings brought by Hong Kong alleging substantial fraud. He challenged the committal on the grounds that since the allegations involved transmission of funds over international . .
Cited – Kaur v Chief Constable for Hampshire CACD 1981
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 . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Extradition, Crime
Updated: 11 June 2022; Ref: scu.200348
