Part 9Offences with respect to property

Part 9—Offences with respect to property 43—Interference with railways and similar tracks (1) A person must not, without lawful authority to do so, and knowing that no such lawful authority exists— (a) interfere with any part of a railway, tramway or track designed for the passage of a vehicle; or (b) interfere with any signal, cable, system or machinery used in connection with any such railway, tramway or track; or (c) place any obstruction on any such railway, tramway or track or in any other manner obstruct or cause the obstruction of a vehicle using any such railway, tramway or track; or (d) do anything else that is likely to result in damage to a vehicle using any such railway, tramway or track. Maximum penalty: $50 000 or imprisonment for 2 years. (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a reference to a railway, tramway or track includes a rail, sleeper, support or other related structure. 44—Unlawful operation of computer system (1) A person who, without proper authorisation, operates a restricted-access computer system is guilty of an offence. (2) The maximum penalty for an offence against subsection (1) is as follows: (a) if the person who committed the offence did so with the intention of obtaining a benefit from, or causing a detriment to, another—$2 500 or imprisonment for 6 months; (b) in any other case—$2 500. (3) A computer system is a restricted-access computer system if— (a) the use of a particular code of electronic impulses is necessary in order to obtain access to information stored in the system or operate the system in some other way; and (b) the person who is entitled to control the use of the computer system has withheld knowledge of the code, or the means of producing it, from all other persons, or has taken steps to restrict knowledge of the code, or the means of producing it, to a particular authorised person or class of authorised persons. 44A—Unauthorised impairment of data held in credit card or on computer disk or other device (a) causes (directly or indirectly) an unauthorised impairment of data held in a credit card or on a computer disk or other device used to store data by electronic means; and (b) knows that the impairment is unauthorised; and (c) intends, by that impairment, to cause harm or inconvenience, or is reckless as to whether harm or inconvenience will ensue, (2) An impairment of data is unauthorised unless it is made by the owner of the data or some other person who has an authorisation or licence (express or implied) from the owner of the data to cause the impairment. (3) A person is to be regarded as the owner of data if— (a) the person brought the data into existence or stored the data in the credit card or on the computer disk or other device for his or her own purposes; or (b) the data was brought into existence or stored in the credit card or on the computer disk or other device at the request or on behalf of that person; or (c) the person has a proprietary interest in, or possessory rights over, the medium in which the data is stored entitling the person to determine what data is stored in the medium and in what form. (4) The onus of establishing that an impairment of data was unauthorised lies on the prosecution. 45—Using vehicles or animals without consent of owner (1) A person who uses any vehicle (other than a motor vehicle as defined in Part 1 of the Road Traffic Act 1961), horse or other beast of burden without the consent of the owner is guilty of an offence. (2) Upon convicting a person for an offence against this section, the court may order the convicted person to pay to the owner of the vehicle, horse or other beast such sum as the court thinks just by way of compensation for the loss caused to the owner by the convicted person. 46—Interference with ships and boats without consent (1) A person who, without lawful authority to do so, and knowing that no such lawful authority exists, casts away or uses any boat or uses any equipment or article in, upon, or forming part of a boat is guilty of an offence. (2) Upon convicting a person for an offence against this section, the court may order the convicted person to pay to the owner of the boat, equipment or article in respect of which the offence was committed such sum as the court thinks just by way of compensation for the loss caused to the owner by the convicted person. boat includes canoe, dinghy, yacht, raft, pontoon, ship and other similar vessel. 47—Interference with homing pigeons (a) without lawful authority, kills, injures or takes any homing pigeon; or (b) enters upon any land for the purpose of killing, injuring or taking any homing pigeon without lawful authority, (2) Upon the conviction of a person for an offence against subsection (1), the court may order the convicted person to pay to the owner of the pigeon killed, injured or taken in contravention of that subsection a sum equal to the value of that pigeon. (3) It is a defence to a charge of killing, injuring or taking a homing pigeon contrary to subsection (1) to prove that the defendant was the owner or occupier of improved or cultivated land, or a person acting under the instructions of any such owner or occupier, and killed, injured or took the pigeon while it was actually upon that land or any building on that land. homing pigeon means a pigeon having a ring affixed or attached to either or both legs; take includes to ensnare or catch. 47A—Dog theft A person who steals a dog, or has unlawfully in their possession a stolen dog knowing that the dog has been stolen, is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $50 000 or imprisonment for 2 years. 48A—Advertising rewards for the return of property stolen or lost Where a person publicly advertises a reward for the return of any property that has been stolen or lost and by that advertisement indicates— (a) that no questions will be asked of the person returning the property; or (b) that the person returning the property will be safe from apprehension or investigation; or (c) that money paid for the purchase of the property or advanced by way of loan on the property will be repaid, the person, and any person who prints or publishes the advertisement, is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $500.