Extortion

By : Siti Nur Jannah Bt Hasanuddin1122051

TLB 5

• Definition (s.383)• Elements :• 1) fear of injury (s.44) - Jadunandan Singh & Anor (force)

• - implied threat - words - Beh Tuck Seng v R

• - umlawful demand - PP v Kang Siew Chong

• 2) intentionally / voluntarily (s.39)• 3) dishonestly induce (s.24) - R v Abdul Kader

• 4) deliver to any person• - any person (s.11)• - any property (s.22)• - valuable security (s.30) - Emperor v Ramnarian Sahu

• General Punishment (s.384)• Differences extortion & theft/robbery/corruption (Loh Kwang Seang v PP)

• Types of extortion (s.385 to s.389)

Introduction

• A serious offence; a person who commits extortion can be arrested without warrant and is not bailable.

• robbery > EXTORTION> theft• Provided under Section 383 (definition),

Section 384 to Section 389 (prescribed the general and aggravated forms of extortion offence)

• English CL, extortion is replaced with ‘blackmail’

Definition (Section 383)

• whoever intentionally puts any person in fear of any injury to that person or to any other, and thereby dishonestly induces the person in fear to deliver to any person or any property or valuable security.

• illustration (a) to (d) • For instance, A threatens to publish a defamatory

libel concerning B, unless B gives him money. A thus induces B to give him money.

• A liable for extortion

Elements

• Case Nayak RS v Antulay AR (1986) Cr LJ 1922 SC, where the appellant in this case lodged a report against the respondent which at that time was the Chief Minister of the state of Maharashtra.

• Held : in order to be convicted in extortion, the prosecution must proved that

• (1) the accused has put any person in fear of any injury to the person or any other

• (2) the accused has intentionally caused that fear of injury to any person

• (3) the accused has induced that person to deliver to any person any property or valuable security, or anything signed or sealed which may be converted into a valuable security

• (4) the inducement was done with dishonesty.

1) Fear of any injury • Section 44 of the Penal Code defines injury as

any harm whatever illegally caused to any in body, mind, reputation or property.

• It is clear that the injury may also include other types of injury such as injury to the mind, reputation and damage or loss of property.

• Thus, the prosecutor must prove that the victim was put in fear of injury and that fear must exist in the victim mind at the time he surrenders the property or valuable security.

• However, if the extorter removed the property or valuable security from the victim, the element of putting a person in fear of injury and thereby inducing the delivering of the property is not fulfilled.

• Jadunandan Singh & Anor AIR (1941) 129• The accused attacked the victim by force which he

put the victim’s thumbprint on a few pieces of blank paper. Then, he used it as valueable securities. He was charged under the offence of extortion. But the court acquited the accused on the charge of extortion and convicted him with the offence of using criminal force.

(i) Implied threat• words that express intention of causing injury or harm to

another person may also amount to threat.• It is illustrated in Section 383, illustrations (a), (b) and (c). • Beh Tuck Seng v R (1947) MLJ 197• where the appellant approached the complainant and said

that he wanted to collect 10.80 for expenses. He further said that ‘everyone here has joined, what about you?’ The complainant who was the stall holder took this as a threat and fear that if he did not paid, he would be beaten or the stall will be ruined. Thus, he paid the money.

• Held, it is clear that the complainant was put in fear and that he was induced to hand over the money.

• The court has taken into the matter of construction of the words.

(ii) Unlawful demand

• the person who is entrusted with certain power, may also be convicted for extortion when he puts a person in fear of injury by exercising his legal power against that person if his demand of paymnet is not met.

• Public Prosecutor v Kang Siew Chong (1968) 2 MLJ 39• where the accused, a police constable was charged with

attempted extortion by puting a courting couple, sitting in close proximity, in fear of injury and thereby induce them to paid him RM 50. If not, he threatened to take them to the police station.

• Held that the accused was guilty for extortion as there was an abuse of the exercise of the power. Hence, it was illegal.

2) Intentionally/ voluntarily

• intentionally means the person intended to cause it. It can be also known as voluntarily.

• Section 39 of the Penal Code provide the definition of voluntarily as a person is said to cause an effect ‘voluntarily’ when he causes it by means whereby he intended to cause it, or by means which at the time of employing those means, he knew or had reason to believe to be likely cause it.

• For example, A sets fire to an empty house for the purpose of robbery and thus cause the death of a person. Here, A is not intended to cause death, yet, if he knew that his action was likely to cause death, he is said to cause death voluntarily

3) Dishonestly induces• The act must induce someone to do a certain thing.

The inducement must be done dishonestly.• Section 24 - ‘dishonestly’ as whoever does anything

with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person, or wrongful loss to another person, irrespective of whether the act causes actual wrongful losss or gain, is said to do that thing dishonestly.

• Thus, when an accused in good faith believes that the victim has taken his money, then an attempt to take back is not an intenttion to cause wrongful loss to the accused.

• This is shown in an Indian case of R v Abdul Kader Valad Bala Abuji, (1866) Crown Cases 45, HC Bombay

• where the accused had purchased from the government some rights with respect to the gathering of firewood. He misconstrued the extent of the right and demanded payment from the complainants for some wood that they had gathered .

• He was found not guilty of extortion on a number of grounds including the absence of dishonesty. Even if his belief was unfounded, he did not intend wrongful gain or loss.

4) Deliver to any person

• means, it is not necessary that the person who extorts receives the extorted property.

• The ingredient of extortion is the actual delivery of ownership of a property by the person who is being put in fear.

• For instance, A extorts C, and B to receive the extorted goods from C. This is possible because it has been mutually agreed to by A and B.

• Hence, both A and B are guilty of extorting C.

-Any person

• Section 11 of the Penal Code, which include any company or registered association or body of persons, whether incororated or not.

• It means, if A extorts a company or registered association, then A is said to have extorted a person.

- Any property

• encompasses both moveable and immovable property.

• Section 22 of the Penal Code define moveable property to include corporeal property of every description, except land and things attached to the earth.

• Hence, property like cars, clothes, jewelleries, cattles and etc come within the definition of moveable property

- valuable security

• Section 30 define valuable security to denote a document which is, or purports to be, a document whereby any legal right is created, extended, transferred, restricted, extinguished, or released or whereby any person acknowledges that he lies under legal liability or has not a certain legal right.

• For example, A writes his name on the back of a bill of exchange. It is known as endorsement as the right to the bill will be transfer to any person who become the lawful holder. This is regards as valuable security.

• this section does not draw a distinction between a stamped or signed document and whether it is signed by an adult or minor.

• An Indian case, Emperor v Ramnarian Sahu, (1933) 15 PLT 66, 35 Cr LJ 124

• where a minor was forced to make a credit note. The court held that the credit note was regarded as a valuable security .

• Held : accused was guilty for extortion.

General Punishment

• Section 384, the punishments is general where the defendant will be liable to imprisonment maximum 10 years or fine or whipping or both.

• There are a few lesser offences, where threat are made in order to comit extortion such as Section 385, 387, 389. This offences is known as attempted extortion where the accused has put the victim in fear but the property has not yet been delivered.

• Where as in cases, where the accused had uttered the threat but the victim had not been put in fear, Section 511 (attempted) will be apply.

Extortion Theft

1) Comission of act

Intentionally puts any person in fear of injury,

thereby dishonestly

induce to deliver the any property

Taking a property without

consent / against the owner’s will

2) Subject matter Both; immovable & movable

Movable

Robbery Extortion

1) Commission

of the act

the property is taken away

from the victim without his

consent

the property is taken away from the victim

with his consent, though it is unwilling

2) Threat immediate physical threat

immediate as well as future threat like loss of money, reputation,

and etc

Corruption Extortion

if A a police officer know that B has committed an offence and

its his duty to take action against him, but A threaten B

to take action against him unless B pays him a sum of

money.

= A has committed the offences of corruption and extortion

if A acting outside the scope of his duty as police officer,

represents falsely to B, that the act done by B constitute

criminal offence, and dishonestly induce B to give

him money.

= A is guilty of extortion only as A at the material time was not in the course of his duty.

Loh Kwang Seang v Public Prosecutor (1960) MLJ 271

• The complainant had recently made a trip to China • When he return to Penang, he was interrogated by the appellant, a police

Inspector, • whereupon the complainant admitted that he had taken with him to China a sum

of $500. • The appellant then told him that because he had taken the money to China, he

(the appellant) could detain him, cancel his citizenship certificate, take his finger-prints and change his identity card into a black one.

• The appellant then told him that since he had been in this country, for many years and had never been in trouble before, if he gave the appellant $150 nothing would happen to him.

• The complainant could raise $135 only and offered this sum to the appellant. • Held : a case of plain extortion as the appellant falsely represents to the

complainant that the act he done was an offence and at the material time the appellant was acting outside the scope of his duty.

Types of extortion

• putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion in section 385

• putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt, Section 386• putting a person in fear of death or grievous hurt in order to

commit extortion, Section 387.• extortion by threat of accusation of an offence punishable

with death, or imprisonment , Section 388• threatening to accuse a person of an ofence punishable with

imprisonment in order to commit extortion, Section 389