‘Appropriation’

‘Appropriation’

‘Appropriation’ means taking or an assumption of rights as an owner, which would include the assumption of that right after coming by the property without stealing it. It is not necessary to prove that the defendant had assumed all the rights of an owner, but any of the rights would suffice. 

Simply put, if a person uses an item in a way that only the rightful owner can use it, e.g. taking it, putting it in his/her own bag, selling it, or gifting it to someone else, then that can amount to ‘appropriation’. Examples might include changing the price tag on an item in a store, which only the owner can do. There is no need to treat the item as if you were the owner in every aspect, any ‘owner-type’ actions would be sufficient. 

In a situation where a person dishonestly causes the victim to transfer money into his account, the defendant does not have to press the buttons on the ATM himself. If a person influences the victim to withdraw or transfer money, then the law will regard that the defendant has directly participated in the withdrawal or transfer, because he has taken part in the victim’s actions, or has influenced the victim’s actions. Therefore, the law will regard this as ‘appropriation’ as well. This shows that appropriation does not need to involve the defendant’s direct physical participation. 

Appropriation can occur even if the owner has consented to the transfer of property. There is no absolute requirement that the appropriation must be done without consent of the owner. Even if there was implied or express consent by the owner of the property, an act could still be appropriation if a person had lied to obtain consent.

Where a person uses a computer terminal in one country to operate a computer located in another country, he may be said to be acting in the latter country, even if the person was physically present in the former. This means if someone is abroad and uses a computer to operate another computer to transfer money in Hong Kong, he can be said to have appropriated inside of Hong Kong, even if he was not physically there.