405. Criminal breach of trust
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Whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property, or with any dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use that property, or dishonestly uses or disposes of that property in violation of any direction of law prescribing the mode in which such trust is to be discharged, or of any legal contract, express or implied, which he has made touching the discharge of such trust, or intentionally suffers any other person to do so, commits “criminal breach of trust”.Illustrations (a) A, being executor to the will of a deceased person, dishonestly disobeys the law which directs him to divide the effects according to the will, and appropriates them to his own use. A has committed criminal breach of trust. (b) A is a warehouse owner or warehouse operator. Z, going on a journey, entrusts his furniture to A, under a contract that it shall be returned on payment of a stipulated sum for warehouse room. A dishonestly sells the goods. A has committed breach of trust.[Act 23 of 2021 wef 01/03/2022]
property
“property” means money and all other property, movable or immovable, including things in action, other intangible or incorporeal property and virtual currency;
A, residing in Singapore, is agent for Z, residing in Penang. There is an express or implied contract between A and Z that all sums remitted by Z to A shall be invested by A according to Z’s direction. Z remits $5,000 to A, with directions to A to invest the same in Government securities. A dishonestly disobeys the direction, and employs the money in his own business. A has committed criminal breach of trust. (d) But if A, in the last illustration, not dishonestly, but in good faith, believing that it will be more for Z’s advantage to hold shares in the Bank X, disobeys Z’s directions, and buys shares in the Bank X for Z, instead of buying Government securities, here, though Z should suffer loss and should be entitled to bring a civil action against A on account of that loss, yet A, not having acted dishonestly, has not committed criminal breach of trust. (e) A, a collector of Government money, or a clerk in a Government office, is entrusted with public money, and is either directed by law, or bound by a contract, express or implied, with the Government, to pay into a certain treasury all the public money which he holds. A dishonestly appropriates the money. A has committed criminal breach of trust. (f) A, a carrier, is entrusted by Z with property to be carried by land or by water. A dishonestly misappropriates the property. A has committed criminal breach of trust.
loss
“loss” includes a loss by not getting what one might get, as well as a loss by parting with what one has. For the purposes of section 473B and subject to subsections (2) and (4), an act or omission intended to be induced is to a person’s prejudice if, and only if, it is one which, if it occurs, will —(a)result in his permanent or temporary loss of property;(b)result in his being deprived of an opportunity to earn remuneration or greater remuneration;(c)result in his being deprived of an opportunity to gain a financial advantage otherwise than by way of remuneration;(d)result in somebody being given an opportunity to earn remuneration or greater remuneration from him;(e)result in somebody being given an opportunity to gain a financial advantage from him otherwise than by way of remuneration; or(f)be the result of his having accepted a false instrument as genuine in connection with his performance of any duty. For the purpose of this section, an act which a person has an enforceable duty to do and an omission to do an act which a person is not entitled to do shall be disregarded. The reference in section 473B to inducing a person (B) to accept a false instrument as genuine includes a reference to inducing a machine to respond to an instrument as if it were a genuine instrument. Where subsection (3) applies, the act or omission intended to be induced by the machine responding to the instrument shall be treated as an act or omission to a person’s prejudice. In subsection (1)(a),