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(1) A person who intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages property belonging to another or to that person and another commits an offence.
(1A) A person who, in the company of another person or persons, intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages property belonging to another or to that person and another commits an offence.
(2) A person who, during a public disorder, intentionally or recklessly destroys or damages property belonging to another or to that person and another commits and offence.
Penalty:
(1) Imprisonment 5 years.
Imprisonment 10 years if the damage is caused by fire or explosives.
(1A) Imprisonment 6 years.
Imprisonment 12 years if the damage is caused by fire or explosives.
(2) Imprisonment 7 years.
Imprisonment 12 years if the damage is caused by fire or explosives.
Summary/Indictable/mixed:
Mixed
Jurisdiction:
Local, District or Supreme Court.
How committed:
(1) Person A is dumped by his girlfriend, so he scratches her car with his keys.
(1A) Person A and Person B are thrown out of a pub for poor behaviour, so they both pick up a bench and throw it through the pub’s window.
(2) In the course of a protest march a fight breaks out with the police. While this is happening a group of protestors roll a police car over causing damage.
Important note:
For property to be damaged, it must be tangible in nature.
Reference to property includes a reference to wild creatures that have been tamed or are ordinarily kept in captivity and includes any other wild creatures or their carcasses but only if they
(a) have been reduced into possession that has not been lost or abandoned, or
(b) are in the course of being reduced into possession.
An act done by a person under a reasonable belief that the person had a right to do the act does not constitute an element of any offence under this Part. Perhaps the simplest explanation of this is to consider joint marital property, where one party asserts, they have damaged their own property.
Damaging property includes removing, obliterating, defacing or altering the unique identifier of the property. The unique identifier is any numbers, letters or symbols that are marked on or attached to the property