Penal Law, 5737-1977

[Amendment: [1966], 1978-4|other=[א/309]]

Whoever knowingly receives, whether by himself or through an agent, any thing, money, negotiable instrument, or any other property, knowing that it was stolen, extorted, obtained, or dealt with by means of a crime, and whoever assumes, whether by himself or through an agent, alone or together with another, control or dealing over such property, is liable to imprisonment of seven years; however, they may be tried before the court competent to try the perpetrator of the crime and shall be liable to the same punishment as that perpetrator.

Whoever receives, whether by himself or through an agent, any thing, money, negotiable instrument, or any other property, knowing that it was taken, obtained, misappropriated, or dealt with by means of a misdemeanor, and whoever assumes, whether by himself or through an agent, alone or together with another, control or dealing over such property, is liable to the same punishment as the perpetrator of that misdemeanor.

Whoever has in his possession any thing, money, negotiable instrument, or any other property in respect of which there is reasonable suspicion that they are stolen, and who is unable to satisfy the court that he acquired possession thereof lawfully, is liable to imprisonment of six months.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

In this Division –

"owner of a vehicle" – includes any person who lawfully possesses it;

"burglar" and "housebreaker" – as defined in Section 405, with "vehicle" substituted for "building";

"vehicle" – a vehicle propelled by mechanical power of any kind or towed by a vehicle, as well as a machine or installation that is propelled or towed as aforesaid, including a motorcycle with or without a sidecar or trailer, a three-wheeled motorcycle, and also a bicycle or tricycle if fitted with an auxiliary engine;

"forgery" and "document" – as defined in Section 414 of the Law.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who drives, uses, or moves from place to place a vehicle without the permission of its owner and abandons it at or near the place from which it was taken is liable to three years' imprisonment; one who does so and abandons the vehicle at any other place is liable to five years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who wilfully destroys or damages a vehicle or any part thereof is liable to five years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who breaks out of or breaks into a vehicle is liable to three years' imprisonment; one who does so with intent to commit theft or a felony is liable to seven years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

A person found in possession of an implement used for breaking into a vehicle and who has no reasonable explanation therefor is liable to three years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who steals or forges a document, or fraudulently uses a document, where –

is liable to five years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who forges or obliterates identifying marks of a vehicle, or of a part of a vehicle, or does any act that makes their identification more difficult, is liable to seven years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who, personally or through another, receives a vehicle or a part of a vehicle knowing that the vehicle or the part was obtained by means of an offence under this Division, or who assumes, personally, through another, or together with another, control over such a vehicle or part, is liable to seven years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

One who knowingly engages in the sale, purchase, dismantling, or assembly of a stolen vehicle, or of a stolen part of a vehicle, is liable to ten years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

Where a person has been convicted of an offence under this Division, the court may, in addition to any other punishment and in addition to its power under Section 43 of the Traffic Ordinance, disqualify that person from holding a driving licence or a vehicle licence for such period as it shall determine.

[Amendment: 1990-2]

The provisions of this Division are in addition to, and shall not derogate from, the provisions of this Law or any other law.

In this Division –

"thing" – Real Property, movable property, a right and a benefit;

"fraud" – a representation of fact concerning the past, present or future, made in writing, orally or by conduct, which the person making it knows to be untrue or does not believe to be true; and "to defraud" – to bring a person by fraud to an act or omission;

"document" – a written instrument, and any other means, whether in writing or in another form, capable of serving as evidence;

"forgery" – any of the following:

"cheque" – as defined in the Bills of Exchange Ordinance, including a bill of exchange drawn on a credit cooperative society that is payable on demand;

"banker" – the person on whom the cheque is drawn.

One who obtains a thing by fraud is liable to three years' imprisonment, and if the offense was committed under aggravating circumstances, to five years' imprisonment.

One who obtains a thing by artifice or by deliberate exploitation of another's mistake, where these do not amount to fraud, is liable to two years' imprisonment.

One who forges a document is liable to one year's imprisonment; if that person forged a document with intent to obtain a thing by means thereof, the person is liable to three years' imprisonment; and if the offense was committed under aggravating circumstances, to five years' imprisonment.

One who forges a document containing information about a person or a corporation with intent to defraud is liable to three years' imprisonment; it is immaterial for this purpose whether the person or corporation existed or not, or whether the corporation was about to be incorporated but was not incorporated.

One who submits, issues or otherwise uses a forged document, knowing it to be forged, shall be treated in the same manner as one who forged the document.

A public servant who forges a document over whose making or keeping the servant is responsible, or to which the servant has access by virtue of the servant's position, is liable to three years' imprisonment with or without a Fine; if that person did so with intent to obtain a thing, the person is liable to five years' imprisonment with or without a Fine; if that person received a thing by means of such a forged document, the person is liable to seven years' imprisonment with or without a Fine.

One who by fraud induces a person to make or sign a document, or to obtain another person's signature or a seal on a document, shall be treated in the same manner as one who forged a document, and the document shall be treated as a forged document; one who by fraud induces a person to destroy a document and thereby causes that person the loss of a thing shall be treated in the same manner as one who obtains a thing by fraud; these provisions are not intended to derogate from the provisions of any other law concerning inducement.

[Amendment: [5730], [5735]|other=[ch/9a]]

A founder, director, member or officer of a corporation who, with intent to defraud, records or causes the recording of a false particular in a document of the corporation, or who, with intent to defraud, refrains from recording therein a particular that ought to have been recorded, is liable to five years' imprisonment; for the purposes of this Section and Sections 424 and 425, "corporation" – includes a corporation about to be incorporated.

[Amendment: [5735]|other=[ch/9b]]

A director, business manager or other employee of a corporation –

[Amendment: 5751-2]

"senior office holder" – a general manager, chief executive officer, deputy general manager, assistant general manager, comptroller, internal auditor, corporate secretary, and any person fulfilling such a role, whatever the title of their position;

"supervisor" – a person to whose direct instructions a senior office holder is subject, and in the case of a general manager – the board of directors of the Company or such person as the board of directors has designated as supervisor for the purposes of this Section; where the corporation has no board of directors, the supervisor shall be the body or person fulfilling functions similar to those of a board of directors of a company, or such person as they have designated;

"publisher" – including a person who transmits information to a public body;

"corporation in which the public has an interest" – any of the following:

[Amendment: [5735]|other=[ch/9c]]

A director, business manager or other employee of a corporation, or a receiver, liquidator, provisional liquidator, assets manager or special administrator of a corporation, who in the course of fulfilling that person's role acted fraudulently or in breach of trust in a manner that causes harm to the corporation, is liable to three years' imprisonment.

One who conceals, destroys or dispossesses a document or asset with intent to defraud is liable to three years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: [5733]|other=[ch/11]]

[Amendment: 5740-7|other=[ch/12]]

One who threatens a person in writing, orally or by conduct with an unlawful injury to the body of that person or of another person, to their liberty, property, livelihood, reputation or privacy, or threatens a person to publish or to refrain from publishing something concerning that person or another person, or intimidates a person in any other manner, all in order to induce that person to do an act or to refrain from an act that the person is entitled to do, is liable to seven years' imprisonment; if the act or omission was performed as a result of, or in the course of, such a threat or intimidation, the person is liable to nine years' imprisonment.

[Amendment: 5783-4]

[Amendment: 5783-4]

[Amendment: 5740-7|other=[a/204]]

[(Repealed).]

[Amendment: [5730]|other=[ch/12a]]

One who unlawfully takes the property of another in order to induce that person to give a thing, or to make or sign a document, is liable to one year's imprisonment.

[Amendment: 5767|other=[ch/13]]

One who exploits the distress, physical or mental weakness, inexperience or recklessness of another for any of the following is liable to three years' imprisonment:

[Amendment: 5740-5|other=[ch/14]]

[Amendment: 5740-5|other=[ch/15]]

[(Repealed).]

[Amendment: 5740-5|other=[ch/16]]

[(Repealed).]

Criminal liability under Section 432 does not derogate from criminal liability under any other legislation.

[Amendment: 5748-3, 5752|other=[ch/18]]

In an offense under this Division involving cheques, the court may, in addition to any other penalty, restrict the accused from drawing cheques and exercise the other powers set out in Section 19 of the Cheques Without Cover Law, 5741–1981.

For the purposes of this Division –

For the purposes of this Division, receipt of a thing – whether or not ownership of the thing passed to the recipient, whether the thing was received for the benefit of the person performing the act or for another, whether by the person performing the act or through another; and giving of a thing – whether to the person performing the act or to another.