Clause 131

by deleting the word “dishonestly” wherever it appears;

by deleting the words “imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 10 years” and substituting the words “imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years”;

by renumbering the section as subsection (1) of that section, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following subsection and Illustration:“(2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that he has a reasonable excuse to receive or retain the property and that he exercised reasonable care as soon as practicable after having the knowledge or reason to believe mentioned in that subsection.IllustrationA box of valuable jewels is delivered by courier to A’s office. A later discovers the jewels and learns from the news reports that there was a gang robbery of jewels in the vicinity. A has reason to believe that the jewels were stolen in the gang robbery. As soon as practicable after this discovery, A keeps the jewels in the safe and travels to the police station to make a report of the jewels and express his belief that the jewels were stolen by gang‑robbers. A has a reasonable excuse for receiving and retaining the jewels pending their retrieval by the police and has exercised reasonable care.”; and

by deleting the words “Dishonestly receiving” in the section heading and substituting the word “Receiving”.