The defendant appealed against his conviction for entering part of a building with intent to steal under section 9 of the 1968 Act. He had gone into a department store during normal opening hours, but then hid himself behind a partition where, finding a till, he opened the drawer looking for something to steal.
Held: The appeal failed. The partition worked to represent that what was behind it was ‘part of a building’ from which the public had been impliedly excluded. The defendant knew and understood this, and was a trespasser as regards that part of the building.
(1979) 68 Cr App R 427
Theft Act 1968 9(1)(a)
England and Wales
Crime
Leading Case
Updated: 01 November 2021; Ref: scu.539565
