153Acts and omissions of representative of individual

153  Acts and omissions of representative of individual

 (1) In this section:

representative, of an individual, means an employee or agent of the individual.

Note: For corporate criminal responsibility, see Part 2.5 of the Criminal Code.

state of mind, of an individual, includes:

 (a) the individual’s knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose; and

 (b) the individual’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose.

 (2) This section applies to a prosecution for an offence against this Ordinance.

 (3) If it is relevant to prove an individual’s state of mind about an act or omission, it is enough to show:

 (a) the act was done or the omission was made by a representative of the individual within the scope of the individual’s actual or apparent authority; and

 (b) the representative had the state of mind.

 (4) An act done or omitted to be done on behalf of an individual by a representative of the individual, within the scope of the representative’s actual or apparent authority, is also taken to have been done or omitted to be done by the individual.

 (5) However, subsection (4) does not apply if the individual establishes that reasonable precautions were taken and appropriate diligence was exercised to avoid the act or omission.

 (6) An individual who is convicted of an offence cannot be punished by imprisonment for the offence if the person would not have been convicted of the offence without subsection (3) or (4).