Altering Etc Or Reproducing Documents, And Using Them With Intent To Deceive

Question 1

Altering, concealing, destroying, or reproducing documents with intent to deceive - Legislation

Answer 1

Section 258 Crimes Act 1961
(1)
With intent to obtain by deception, any property, privilege, service, pecuniary advantage, benefit, or valuable consideration, or to cause loss to any other person,
(a) Alters, conceals, or destroys any document, or causes any document to be altered, concealed, or destroyed, or
(b) makes a document or causes a document to be made that is, in whole or in part, a reproduction of any other document.
(2)
An offence against (1) is complete as soon as the alteration or document is made with intent referred to in that subsection, although the offender may not have intended that any particular person should -
(a) use or act upon the document altered or made, or
(b) Act on the basis of the absence of the document concealed or destroyed, or
(c) be induced to do or refrain from doing anything.

Question 2

Define: Alteration

Answer 2

A document is altered if it is changed in some manner.

Question 3

Define: Conceal

Answer 3

Conceal includes, the actual hiding of a document, the denial of its existence, and the withholding of it.

Question 4

Define: Destruction

Answer 4

To end the existence of it.

Question 5

Define: Reproduction

Answer 5

Producing a copy or representation of, or made in imitation.

Question 6

Causes A document to be altered etc…define causes.

Answer 6

Causes either through arranging for the necessary actions by another person or by the use of a computer program or other device that will alter, conceal or destroy the document.

Question 7

Altering, concealing, destroying, or reproducing documents with intent to deceive requires a mental element.

Answer 7

There must be an intent to obtain by deception, or an intent to cause loss.

Question 8

Differences between forgery and altering or reproducing a document

Answer 8

Document and intent.

Forgery - an intent to deceive only is required, not an intent to obtain by deception.

Altering etc - you must prove that the offender intended to obtain by deception.

Any document can be altered or reproduced in the charge of altering etc, however in a charge of forgery the document must be a ‘false document’ defined in s255.

Question 9

Using altered or reproduced document with intent to deceive - Legislation

Answer 9

Section 259 Crimes Act 1961
(1)
Knowing any document to have been made or altered in the manner and with intent referred to in s258, with intent to obtain by deception any property etc, or to cause loss to any other person -
(a) uses, or deals with, or acts upon the document, or
(b) causes any person to use or deal with, or act upon, the document

(2)
For the purpose of this section it does not matter that the document was altered or made outside NZ.

Question 10

Conduct required to be proven for using altered doc to deceive.

Answer 10

• Use, deal with, or acted upon, or caused anyone to use, deal with or act upon, AND,
• Prove that the document had been previously altered with intent to deceive.
  (Don’t need to prove who altered it)

Question 11

Mental elements of using altered documents. Three parts.

Answer 11

• Knowledge the document had been altered with intent to deceive.
• Intent by the use of the document, or by causing another to use, to obtain by deception any property, privilege, service, pecuniary advantage, benefit or valuable consideration, or to cause loss to any other person.
• Intent to acquire or retain property etc, or cause loss ‘by deception’