Section 68

Any person who wilfully removes, destroys or damages any installation or plant used for telecommunications shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 years or to both.

Despite subsection (1), any person who, in the course of carrying out any earthworks, damages or suffers to be damaged any cable of a telecommunication system belonging to or under the management or control of a telecommunication system licensee shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.

Where an offence under subsection (2) is committed by any person (called in this subsection the firstmentioned person) acting as the agent or employee of another person (called in this subsection the principal person), or being otherwise subject to the supervision or instructions of another person (also called in this subsection the principal person) for the purposes of any employment in the course of which the offence was committed, the principal person shall, without prejudice to the liability of the firstmentioned person, be liable under that subsection in the same manner and to the same extent as if the principal person had personally committed the offence unless the principal person proves to the satisfaction of the court that the offence was committed without the principal person’s consent or connivance or that it was not attributable to any neglect on the principal person’s part.

In any proceedings for an offence under subsection (2), it is a defence for the person charged to prove that the person took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

If in any proceedings for an offence under subsection (2) the defence involves acting on information supplied by a telecommunication system licensee or a licensed telecommunication cable detection worker, the person charged is not, without leave of the court, entitled to rely on that defence unless, within a period of 14 clear days before the hearing, the person has served on the prosecutor a written notice giving such information as was then in the person’s possession identifying or assisting in the identification of the telecommunication system licensee or telecommunication cable detection worker.[49