Burglary & Aggravated burglary

Burglary & Aggravated burglary

Burglary

A person commits burglary under section 11 of the Theft Ordinance if he enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser, and with intent to commit theft, inflicting on any person therein any grievous bodily harm or raping any woman therein, or doing unlawful damage to the building or anything therein. 

Unlawful damage to anything within the building also includes unlawfully causing a computer in the building to function other than it was originally intended to, unlawfully erasing or altering any programme or data held in the computer or in a computer storage medium, or unlawfully adding any programme or data to the contents of the computer or a computer storage medium. 

For the offence of burglary, the term “building” is interpreted broadly. It does not only refer to houses or apartments, but includes any building or part of a building. It also covers inhabited vehicles or vessels, such as caravans or houseboats, provided they are used as a dwelling. The offence applies whether or not the occupier is present at the time.

Entering a building without the occupier’s consent is trespass. Trespass can happen through intentional, reckless, or negligent entry. But to be criminal, the person must have the required mental state — meaning they knew, or were reckless about, the fact that their entry was trespassing. Even if someone has a right to enter land for a specific purpose, they commit trespass if they enter for a different purpose.

If someone enters a building as a trespasser with the intention to steal, it is burglary. It is no defence that he only intends to steal if he finds anything worth stealing, or that in the building or part of a building that he enters there is, in fact, nothing to steal. The law focuses on the intention at the time of entry, not on whether property was actually stolen.

The maximum sentence on indictment for burglary is 14 years’ imprisonment. 

Aggravated burglary

A person commits aggravated burglary under section 12 of the Theft Ordinance if he commits burglary, and at the time he has any firearm or imitation firearm, any weapon or explosive with him. It is important to note that imitation firearms will also suffice under this section. 

The maximum sentence on indictment for aggravated burglary is life imprisonment.