CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

Midterm

Crimes against Property

-crimes that are directed to a person’s belongings, intellectual properties and money. It includes
many common crimes relating to theft or destruction of some else’s property.

ROBBERY
- any person who, with intent to gain, shall take any personal property belonging to
another, by means of violence or intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything
shall be guilty of robbery.
Elements of the crime robbery
1. The personal property belongs to another.
2. The unlawful taking of that property.
3. With intent to gain (Animus lucrandi).
4. Violence against or intimidation of any person or force upon things.
5. The offense can be committed by band or with the use of firearms on a street, road or
alley or by attacking a moving train, street car, motor vehicle or airship or by entering
or taking the passenger conveyance by surprise.
6. Other analogous acts.
Robbery with violence or intimidation of persons
 The personal property belongs to another.
 The unlawful taking of that property.
 With intent to gain (Animus lucrandi).
 The taking is with violence against or intimidation of persons.
Inhabited house- means any shelter, ship or vessel constituting the dwelling of one or more
persons, even though the inhabitants are temporarily absent from it when the robbery is
committed.

BRIGANDAGE
- Is the seizure of any person for ransom, extortion or other unlawful purposes, or the
taking away of the property of another by means of violence against or intimidation of
person or force upon things of other means, committed by any person on any Philippine
highway.
BRIGANDS, also known as HIGWAY ROBBERS
- are a group of more than three armed persons forming band of robbers for the purpose of
committing robbery in the highway, or kidnapping persons for the purpose of extortion or
to obtain ransom or for any other purpose to be attained by means of force and violence.

THEFT
- Committed by any person who, with intent to gain but without violence against or
intimidation of persons nor force upon things, shall take personal property of another
without the latter’s consent.
Theft is also committed by the following;
1. Any person who, having found lost property, shall fail to deliver the same to the local
authorities or to its owner.
2. Any person who, after having maliciously damaged the property of another, shall remove
or make use of the fruits or object of the damage caused by him.
3. Any person who shall enter an enclosed estate or a field where trespass is forbidden or
which belongs to another and without the consent of its owner, shall hunt or fish upon the
same or shall gather cereals, or other forest or farm products.
Four modes of Theft
1. Asportation- it is the carrying away of someone else’s property that is an element of
larceny. The taking away is accomplished without violence or intimidation against a
person or force upon things.
2. Lost property- the perpetrator finds a lost item/property and failed or did not intended to
deliver the lost property to its rightful owner.
3. Damage to property- the offender maliciously damages the property of others, and he
removes or makes use of the fruits or objects of the damage caused by him.
4. Hunting or gathering- the violator enters an enclose estate or a field without any
consent of the owner, and where trespass is forbidden. He hunts or fishes, or gathers
crops without the consent of the owner.

QUALIFIED THEFT
Qualified theft is a crime of theft committed by the following;
1. A domestic servant;
2. With grave abuse of confidence
3. If the property is stolen is motor vehicle, mail matter or large cattle or consist of
coconuts take from the premises of the plantation or fish taken from a fishpond or
fishery , or
4. If the property is taken on the occasion of fire, earthquake, typhoon, volcanic
eruption, or any other calamity, vehicular accident or civil disturbance.

USURPATION
- Is the occupation of real property or any rights in the property belonging to another by
means of violence against or intimidation of persons. According to the RPC of
Philippines, this includes altering boundaries or landmark.

CULPABLE INSOLVENCY
- Is the fraudulent disposal or concealment and or disposal of properties of a debtor to
defraud his creditors.
Culpable insolvency also known as Fraudulent Insolvency
- it is committed by any person who abscond with his property to the prejudice of his
creditor.
- Is the fraudulent disposal or concealment and or disposal of properties of a debtor to
defraud his creditors.
Insolvency
- refers to the situation where the debtor cannot pay the debts she owes.

SWINDLING
Swindling also known as Estafa, it is an act of defrauding another person’s by any of the
following means:
1. Unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence
2. Deceit or fraudulent acts
3. Fraudulent means
According to the Revise PNP Criminal Investigation Manual (2010) the elements of |Estafa are;
a. There is deceit.
b. There is damage or prejudice to the offended party.
c. The deceit is through unfaithfulness or abuse of confidence.
d. Some by means of false pretense or fraudulent acts or means.
e. Other analogous acts.
Syndicated Estafa
-committed by syndicate consisting of five or more persons formed with the intention of
carrying out the unlawful or illegal act, transaction, enterprises or scheme, and defraudation
results in the misappropriation of money contributed by stockholders, or members of rural banks,
cooperative, “samahang nayon”, or farmer association, or of funds solicited by
coorporations/associations from the general public.

CHATTEL MORTGAGE
Is a conditional sale of personal property as security for the payment of a debt, or the
performance of some other obligation specified therein, the condition being that sales shall be
void upon the seller paying to the purchaser a sum of money or doing some other act named. If
the condition is performed according to its terms the mortgage and sale immediately become
void, and the mortgage is thereby divested of his tittle.

MALICIOUS MISCHIEF
Are attempts against another’s property inspired sometimes by hatred or a desire for
revenge and sometimes by hatred or a desire for revenge and sometimes by mere pleasure of
destroying.
Elements of the crime of malicious mischief;
 That the offender deliberately caused damage to the property of another;
 That such act does not constitute arson or other crimes involving destruction;
 That the act of damaging another’s property be committed merely for the sake of
damaging it.
Types of malicious mischief
1. Causing damage to obstruct the performance of public function;
2. Using any poisonous or corrosive substance;
3. Spreading any infection or contagion among cattle;
4. Causing damage to the property of the national museum or National Library, or to any
archive or registry, watermarks, road, promenade, or any other thing used in common by
the public.

BOUNCING CHECKS
An act of making or drawing and issuance of a check without sufficient funds or credits.
This also includes any person who, having sufficient funds or credit with the drawee bank when
he makes or draws and issues a check, shall fail to keep sufficient funds or to maintain a credit to
cover the full amount of the check if presented within the period of 90 days from the date
appearing thereon, for which reason it is dishonored by the drawee bank.

ARSON
Is the intentional burning or setting of fire to the property of another or own property
under circumstances which expose to danger the life or property of another.
Elements of the crime Arson
1. Actual burning took place.
2. Actual burning is done with malicious intent.
3. The actual burning is done by a person legally and criminally liable.
Destructive Arson
1. Any ammunition factory and other establishment where explosives, inflammable or
combustible material are stored.
2. Any archive, museum, whether public or private, or any edifice devoted to culture,
education or social services.
3. Any church or place of worship or other building where people usually assemble.
4. Any train, airplane or aircraft, vessel or watercraft, or conveyance for transportation or
property.
5. Any building where evidence is kept for use in any legislative, judicial, administrative or
other official proceedings.
6. Any hospital, hotel, dormitory, lodging house, housing, tenement, shopping center, public
or private market, theater or movie house or any similar place or building.
 7. Any building, whether used as a dwelling or not, situated in a populated or congested
area.

Other cases of Arson

1. Any building used as offices of the government or any of its agencies;
2. Any inhabited house or dwelling;
3. Any industrial establishment, shipyard, oil well or mine shaft, platform or tunnel;
4. Any plantation, farm, pastureland, grain field, orchard, bamboo groove or forest;
5. Any rice mill, sugar mill, cane mill or mill central;
6. Any railway or bus station, airport, wharf or warehouse,
Special Aggravating Circumstances in Arson
1. If committed with intent to gain;
2. If committed for the benefit of another;
3. If the offender is motivated by spite or hatred towards the owner or occupant of the
property burned;
4. If committed by syndicate.
Levels of Offense in Arson
1. Attempted Arson
- The suspect begins the commission of the felony directly by overt acts but does not fulfill
all acts of execution necessary to produce the felony by reason of the timely arrival of the
policeman.
Example:
The suspect gets a rag and soak it in kerosene with intent to burn the house of the victim,
his enemy. Suspect puts the rag in a combustible portion of the victim’s house and when
in the act of striking his match in order to burn the rag soaked with kerosene, suspects is
arrested by a policeman who happens to pass by.
2. Frustrated Arson
- Suspect had already performed all the acts of execution necessary to produce the felony
but the felony was not produce by the reason of the timely arrival of the victim, which is
independent in the will of the suspect.
Example:
The suspect, with intent to burn, puts the rag soaked with kerosene in the combustible
part of the victim’s house. A lights the rag and while it is burning, suspects run away.
Before the fire from the rag consumes any part of the house, the victims discovers it and
extinguish the fire.
3. Consummated Arson
- The suspect had already performed all the acts of execution necessary to produce the
felony.
Example:
The suspect, with intent to burn, lights a rag soaked with kerosene in the combustible part
of the victim’s house. But before the fire was extinguishes by the victim, it had already
burned a small portion of the house.

Exemptions from criminal liability in crimes against property

No criminal liability but only civil liability, shall result from the commission of the crime of
theft, swindling or malicious mischief committed or caused mutually by the following persons;
1. Spouse, ascendants and descendants, or relatives by affinity in the same line.
2. The widowed spouse with respect to the property which belonged to the deceased spouse
before the same shall have passed into the possession of another; and
3. Brothers and sisters and brother-in-law and sisters-in-law, if living together.
Special Penal Code on crimes against property

Presidential Decree no. 1744

-a decree amending Art. 320 of the revise penal code provisions on arson
-it states that the penalty of reclusion temporal and its maximum period to reclusion
perpetua shall be impose for person who committed destructive arson and other forms of
arsons.
-enacted last November 11, 1980
-signed by Ferdinand E. Marcos

Presidential Decree no. 1613

-it is a decree amending the law on arson.
- it states that, if the arson is committed by a syndicate, it is one of the special aggravating
circumstances in arson, and thus, the penalty in any case of arson shall be imposed in its
maximum period.

Batas Pambansa Bilang 22

-also known as “Anti-Bouncing Check Law”
-approved last 1979.
-it was enacted to afford protection to business and the public in general, and prevent
circulation of worthless checks.

Presidential Decree no. 532

-also known as the “Anti-Piracy and Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974”.
-enacted last August 8, 1974
-signed by Ferdinand E. Marcos
-it goals is to discourage acts of depredations of either piracy or highway
robbery/brigandage upon the person and properties of innocent and defenseless inhabitants who
travel from one place to another, by imposing heavy penalties on the offenders.

Presidential Decree no. 1689

-a decree increases the penalty for certain forms of estafa, specifically syndicated estafa.
-enacted last April 6, 1980
-signed by Ferdinand E. Marcos
-states that any person who committed syndicate estafa shall be punish by life
imprisonment to death.