Discharges Firearm or Doing Dangerous act with intent S198(1)(b) CA61

Question 1

What are the elements of S198(1)(b) CA61

Answer 1

• With intent to do GBH
• Sends to any person/Delivers to any person/ or puts in place
• Any Explosive/Injurious Substance

Question 2

Intent

Answer 2

There are two types of intent. Firstly, and act or omission that is done deliberately, the act or omission must be more than involuntary or accidental. The second type is the intent to produce a specific result. AIM OBJECT PURPOSE

Question 3

R v Collister

Answer 3

Circumstantial evidence of the offender’s intent may be inferred by:

• The offender’s actions and words before, during and after the event
• Surrounding circumstances
• The nature of the act itself

Question 4

R v Taisalika

Answer 4

The nature of the blow and the gash which it produced on the complainant’s head would point strongly to the presence of the necessary intent.

Question 5

Define Causes

Answer 5

In this context a person causes GBH if his/her actions make him/her criminally responsible for it

Question 6

Define GBH

Answer 6

Grievous bodily harm simply means “ Harm that is really serious”. This section does not specify the manner in which the harm is caused and there is no reference to violence, therefore it is not necessary to prove an assault in all cases. Grievous refers to the degree of harm rather than the nature of how it was caused and as long as the harm is serious, it doesn’t need to involved life threatening or permanent injury

Question 7

DPP v Smith

Answer 7

Bodily harm needs no explanation and grievous means no more and no less than really serious

Question 8

R v Donovan

Answer 8

Bodily Harm…..includes any hurt or injury calculated to interfere with the health or comfort of the victim….it need not be permanent, but must, no doubt, be more than merely transitory and trifling.

Question 9

Define Sends or delivers

Answer 9

The terms Send and delivers take their ordinary meanings and include situations where the victim receives a dangerous thing by mail or courier, For example, a letter bomb

Question 10

Define Person S2 CA61

Answer 10

This offence is gender neutral and that fact that the victim is a person is generally accepted by judicial notice or proved by circumstantial evidence. The age of the victim is not relevant

Question 11

Define Explosive S2 Arms Act 83

Answer 11

Means any substances or mixture or combination of substances, in which in their original state, is capable of decomposition at such a rapid rate that it causes an explosion or produces a pyrotechnic effect.

Question 12

Define Offence completion S198(1)(b) CA61

Answer 12

• (b) It is not necessary for an explosion to occur; the offence is complete when an explosive or injurious substance or device is sent/delivered/put in place. However, the substance must have the capacity to explode or cause injury