Dear Mirror Lawyer, I bought a fairly used iPhone from someone at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra for a very low price.
A few days later, the police came and said the phone was stolen. I did not steal it . Can I still get into trouble?
Kobby Mainoo, Kokomlemle, Accra.
Dear Kobby,
The offence of dishonestly receiving stolen property involves accepting the property as your own, knowing or ought to know that it is stolen.
Such stolen property is usually sold at ridiculously low prices in a marketplace or in private.
It constitutes an offence because the person purchasing the property knows or ought to know that no manufacturer or dealer in that property will sell it at that price, but for the fact that it was stolen and the thief wants to get rid of it quickly.
If you purchase such property, you are guilty of an offence because by your conduct, you want to assist the thief to get rid of the property quickly and deny the owner permanent possession.
In Ghana, the offence of dishonestly receiving stolen property is provided for in sections 146, 147 and 148 of the Criminal Offences Act 1960, Act 29. The relevant provisions of the law are as follows:
• 146. Dishonestly receiving property: A person who dishonestly receives property which that person knows has been obtained or appropriated by a criminal offence punishable under this Chapter, commits a criminal offence and is liable to the same punishment as if that person had committed that criminal offence.
• 147. Dishonestly receiving
• (1) A person commits the criminal offence of dishonestly receiving property which that person knows to have been obtained or appropriated by a criminal offence, if that person receives, buys, or assists in the disposal of the property otherwise than with a purpose to restore it to the owner.
• 148. Possession of stolen property
• (1) Where a person charged with dishonestly receiving is proved to have had in possession or under control, anything which is reasonably suspected of having been stolen or unlawfully obtained, and that person does not give an account, to the satisfaction of the Court, as to the possession or control, the Court may presume that the thing has been stolen or unlawfully obtained, and that person may be convicted of dishonestly receiving in the absence of evidence to the contrary.
The essential ingredients of this crime are as follows:
1. You, the accused, must be in possession or control of the property.
2. You must have failed to give an account to the satisfaction of the court regarding how you came into possession or control of the property.
3. Presumption of guilty knowledge if you fail to provide sufficient explanation about how you came by the property.
Even if you did not steal it yourself, the law expects you to be careful. Buying items from suspicious sources or at prices too low to be normal can make it appear that you knew they were stolen. Always check ownership before purchasing.
