136Acts and omissions of representatives

136 Acts and omissions of representatives (1) In this section: representative, of a person, means— (a) if the person is an individual—an employee or agent of the person; or (b) if the person is a corporation—an employee, agent or executive officer of the person. state of mind, of a person, includes— (a) the person’s knowledge, intention, opinion, belief or purpose; and (b) the person’s reasons for the intention, opinion, belief or purpose. (2) An act done or omitted to be done on behalf of a person by a representative of the person is also taken to have been done or omitted to be done by the person if the representative was acting within the scope of the representative’s actual or apparent authority. (3) However, subsection (2) does not apply if the person establishes that reasonable precautions were taken and appropriate diligence was exercised to avoid the act or omission. (4) If it is relevant to prove a person’s state of mind about an act or omission, it is enough to show— (a) the act was done or omission was made by a representative of the person within the scope of the representative’s actual or apparent authority; and (b) the representative had the state of mind. (5) An individual who is convicted of an offence cannot be punished by imprisonment for the offence if the individual would not have been convicted of the offence without subsection (2) or (4).