Section 127 - Stealing of thing found

A person who appropriates a thing which appears to have been lost by another person has not committed the criminal offence of stealing it, unless

(a) at the time of appropriating it, that person knows the owner of the thing or by whom it has been lost; or

(b) the character or situation of the thing, the marks on it, or any other circumstances indicate the owner of the thing or the person by whom it has been lost; or

(c) the character or situation of the thing, the marks on it, or any other circumstances indicate that the person who has lost the thing appears likely to be able to recover it by reasonable search and enquiry, if it were not removed or concealed by any other person.

Illustrations

1. A finds a ring in the high road. If the ring has an owner’s or maker’s name or motto engraved on it, or if it is of great value, A will be convicted of stealing it if A appropriates it without making reasonable enquiry.

2. A buys an old chest at the sale of the personal effects of a deceased person. A finds a banknote in a secret drawer of the chest A commits the criminal offence of stealing if A appropriates the note, unless A had expressly bought the right to what A might find in the chest, or makes reasonable enquiry and fails to discover the owner.