TITLE X: Crimes Against Rights of Property
Criminal Damage to Property
132. Destroying or damaging property.
(1) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property or being reckless as to whether any such property would be destroyed or damaged shall be guilty of a crime.
(2) A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property, whether belonging to himself or another-
(a) intending to destroy or damage any property or being reckless as to whether any property would be destroyed or damaged; and
(b) intending by the destruction or damage to endanger the life of another or being reckless as to whether the life of another would be thereby endangered,
shall be guilty of a crime.
(3) A crime committed under this section by destroying or damaging property by fire or by any explosive matter shall be charged as arson.
133. Threats to destroy or damage property.
A person who without lawful excuse makes to another a threat, intending that that other person would fear it would be carried out-
(a) to destroy or damage any property belonging to that other or a third person; or
(b) to destroy or damage his own property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of that other or a third person,
shall be guilty of a crime.
134. Possessing anything with intent to destroy or damage property.
A person who has anything in his custody or under his control intending without lawful excuse to use it or cause or permit another to use it-
(a) to destroy or damage any property belonging to some other person; or
(b) to destroy or damage his own or the user's property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of some other person,
shall be guilty of a crime.
135. Punishment.
(1) A person who is guilty of arson under section 132 or of a crime under section 132 (2) (whether arson or not) shall be liable to imprisonment for life.
(2) A person who is guilty of any other crime under this Title shall be liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years and on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.
136.Without lawful excuse.
(1) This section applies to any crime under section 132 (1) and any crime under section 133 or section 134 other than one involving a threat by the person charged to destroy or damage property in a way which he knows is likely to endanger the life of another or involving an intent by the person charged to use or cause or permit the use of something in his custody or under his control so as to destroy or damage property.
(2) A person charged with a crime to which this section applies shall, whether or not he would be treated for the purposes of this Title as having a lawful excuse apart from this subsection, be treated for those purposes as having a lawful excuse-
(a) if at the time of the act or acts alleged to constitute the crime he believed that the person or persons whom he believed to be entitled to consent to the destruction of or damage to the property in question had so consented, or would have so consented to it if he or they had known of the destruction or damage and its circumstances; or
(b) if he destroyed or damaged or threatened to destroy or damage the property in question or in the case of a charge of a crime under section 134 above, intended to use or cause or permit the use of something to destroy or damage it, in order to protect property belonging to himself or another or a right or interest in property which was or which he believed to be vested in himself or another, and at the time of the act or acts alleged to constitute the crime he believed-
(i) that the property, right or interest was in immediate need of protection; and
(ii) that the means of protection adopted or proposed to be adopted were or would be reasonable having regard to all the circumstances.
(3) For the purpose of this section it is immaterial whether a belief is justified or not if it is honestly held.
(4) For the purpose of subsection (2) a right or interest in property includes any right or privilege in or over land, whether created by grant, licence or otherwise.
(5) This section shall not be construed as casting doubt on any defence recognised by law as a defence to criminal charges.
137. Meaning of property.
(1) In this Title “property” means property of a tangible nature, whether real or personal, including money and-
(a) including wild creatures which have been tamed or are ordinarily kept in captivity, and any other wild creatures or their carcasses if, but only if, they have been reduced into possession which has not been lost or abandoned or are in the course of being reduced into possession; but
(b) not including flowers, fruits or foliage of a plant growing wild on any land.
(2) Property shall be treated for the purposes of this Title as belonging to any person-
(a) having the custody or control of it;
(b) having in it any proprietary right or interest (not being an equitable interest arising only from an agreement to transfer or grant an interest); or
(c) having a charge on it.
(3) Where property is subject to a trust, the persons to whom it belongs shall be so treated as including any person having a right to enforce the trust.
(4) Property of a corporation sole shall be so treated as belonging to the corporation notwithstanding a vacancy in the corporation.
138.Meaning of damage.
In this Title “damage” includes not only damage to the matter of a thing, but also the interruption of the use thereof or any interference therewith by which the thing becomes temporarily useless, or by which expense is rendered necessary in order to render the thing fit for the purposes for which it was used or maintained.
