R. v. Amiri s/o Juma, Crim. Rev. 155-D-67, 25/11/67, Biron J.

R. v. Amiri s/o Juma, Crim. Rev. 155-D-67, 25/11/67, Biron J.

Accused were convicted of being rogues and vagabonds [P.C. s. 177(4)] upon evidence that they were found sleeping in buses at a bus depot. Those considered adults were sentenced to imprisonment for 15 days, and those considered juveniles, including a sixteen-year-old boy, were sentenced to six strokes corporal punishment.

            Held: (1) Section 177(4) defines as a rogue and vagabond “every person found in or near any premises …. At such time and under such circumstances as to lead to the conclusion the such person is there for an illegal or disorderly purpose.” The tort of civil trespass is not such an illegal purpose. (2) An element of the offence of criminal trespass [P.C. s. 299(1)] is the intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy the possessor of the property. There is no evidence of such intent here. (3) A juvenile is a person under the age of sixteen years and does not include a person of the age of sixteen years. The Court stated, obiter: No purpose could have been served by the short terms of imprisonment of the adult accused. “(I)t is not only a waste of public monies to send them to prison for such a short spell, but it defeats the very object of reformative punishment, in that it exposed these youths to contacts with, and the influence of, criminals, including hardened ones, and possibly to even worse dangers.” Convictions quashed.