Here's a question, related to this..
If someone steals your stereo...
Then you buy it back...
Does that mean you are handling stolen goods? :-?
Splendid question - even in this bizarre scenario Section 22 (Theft Act) 'handling............knowing or believing them to be stolen' would only apply if the buyer was to
know or believe them to be stolen. If the buyer made the purchase in good faith a Section 22 offence wouldn't apply.
However in this case Section 1 of the same Act would have already defined the theft aspect and I would suggest that, effectively, in this instance, one couldn't steal one's stolen property back again.
Of course if one were to commit any other offence in the course of attempting to retrieve the property – using violence or threats, entering a vehicle or building unlawfully and so on - that would be another matter.
The goods will always remain stolen irrespective of howsoever many hands they pass through – legitimate or not.
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Topic: Car broke into (Read 2598 times)