Hugh and Keith Burglary

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Hugh and Keith problem question unit guide page 12- Rickesh Punjani Hugh may be guilty of a theft or burglary charge under the theft act 1968. The basic definition under section one of the theft act 1968 is that a person Is guilty of theft if he dishonestly appropriates property belonging to another with the intention to permanently depriving the other of it; and ‘theft’ and ‘steal’ shall be considered accordingly. We can tell from section one of the theft act that the actus reus of a theft is the appropriation of property belonging to another. Appropriation simply means assuming the owners right to that property. From the scenario we can see that Hugh has done this when he has ‘sneaks round his father’s house and takes the bike with a view of selling it’. Hugh has clearly assumed that his father would be ok with this and has therefore, committed the act. The mens rea of theft concerns two aspects, the intention to permanently deprive the other of it and he dishonestly appropriates the property. In this case section two of the theft act explains circumstances which are not to be regarded as dishonest and subsection (b) may come helpful in Hugh’s case. Section 2 (b) states that if he appropriates the property in the belief that he has in law the right to deprive the other of it, on behalf of himself of a third person he will not be considered as dishonest. Therefore, this can relate to Hugh’s situation because he has gone round his fathers house to take the bike. However this is a weak argument because Hugh ‘sneaks round his father’s house’ which would be considered unnecessary if his father would give Hugh the consent. The second aspect of permanently depriving the other of it is clear as he has the view of selling the bike. Furthermore, the charge of burglary lies within the theft act 1968 section 9 (1) a and section 9 (1) b. The actus reus of section 9

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