Robbery & Assault with intent to rob

Robbery & Assault with intent to rob

Robbery

A person commits robbery under section 10 of the Theft Ordinance if he steals and immediately before that at the time of doing so, and in order to do so, uses force on any person or puts or seeks to put any person in fear or being then and there subjected to force. 

It does not matter who the actual legal owner of the property is. If someone has possession or control of property, the law treats that property as belonging to them for the purpose of robbery. So naming the true owner is unnecessary to prove the offence — what matters is that the victim had control of the property when it was stolen.

• ‘Steals’

  It is enough that the offender appropriates (takes control of) the property. The property doesn’t actually have to be carried away — the act of taking it is sufficient.

  If someone genuinely believes they have a legal right to the property, that can cancel out theft. Since robbery requires theft, a valid claim of right may also cancel out robbery.

   

• ‘Use or threat of force’

  The force or threat must happen immediately before or at the time of the stealing, and it must be for the purpose of stealing. A less immediate threat (like “pay me or I’ll hurt you later”) is not robbery — it may be blackmail instead.

  The threat or force must be directed at a person, not just property. It must be shown that the offender either: (i) used force on a person, or (ii) put or tried to put someone in fear of being immediately subjected to force. The force can be directed at someone other than the property’s possessor, as long as it is used to carry out the theft.

Assault with intent to rob

If a person assaults another person and at the same time he had the intention to rob the other person, then his actions fall under the offence of ‘assault with intent to rob’. 

Sentence

If convicted of a charge of robbery or assault with intent to rob, the maximum sentence on conviction upon indictment is life imprisonment. A prison sentence for robbery cannot be suspended (section 109B of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance). Special rules that sometimes protect young offenders aged 16–21 from imprisonment do not apply to robbery (section 109A of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance).