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Penalty for false statements.
[1935 WOPS, s. 58; 1961 MP, s. 13; 1976 (No. 2), ss. 9, 10]
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188.—(1) Every person—
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(a) who, for the purpose of obtaining or continuing a pension either for himself or for any other person, or for the purpose of obtaining or continuing a pension for himself or for any other person at a rate higher than that appropriate to the case, knowingly makes any statement or representation (whether written or verbal) which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material respect or knowingly conceals any material fact, or
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(b) who knowingly obtains payment of, or continues to receive, a pension which he is disqualified for receiving or to which he is not entitled or of an amount in excess of the amount to which he is entitled, or
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(c) who knowingly obtains or receives any payment on account of a pension which for any reason whatsoever is not payable to him,
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shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable—
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(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £500 or (at the discretion of the court) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or
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(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £2,000 or (at the discretion of the court) to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and such imprisonment.
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(2) A person convicted of an offence under subsection (1) in relation to a widow's (non-contributory) pension shall be disqualified for receipt of such pension for a period of 6 months immediately following the date of the conviction. This subsection shall not apply to any offence committed prior to 12th July, 1976.
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(3) This section shall apply with the necessary modification in the case of a person to whom a pension or an increase in respect of a qualified child is paid under any of the provisions of this Chapter for or for the benefit of any person.
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[1976 (No. 2), s. 5]
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(4) Notwithstanding any provision in any Act specifying the period within which proceedings may be commenced, a prosecution for an offence under this Chapter, or under regulations made under or applying the provisions of this Chapter, may be brought at any time within whichever of the following periods later expires—
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(a) the period of three months commencing on the date on which it is certified in writing sealed with the official seal of the Minister that evidence sufficient to justify the institution of that prosecution came into the procurement or possession of the Minister, or
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(b) the period of two years commencing on the date on which the offence was committed.
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[1976 (No. 2), s. 11]
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(5) Where in a prosecution for an offence under this Chapter, or under regulations made under or applying the provisions of this Chapter, it is shown to the satisfaction of the court—
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(a) that an application has been made by a person (in this section referred to as the defendant) for pension, and
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(b) that as a result of that application pension has been paid to any person (whether or not such pension was that applied for and whether or not it was paid to the defendant),
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the defendant shall be presumed to have given any information contained in the application (or to have caused it to be given on his behalf) and, where such information is false, with full knowledge of such falsity and with intent that it should deceive; but this presumption may be rebutted.
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[1960 MP, s. 21]
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(6) Where, in any civil proceedings in any court, it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that pursuant to a claim of or on behalf of a person a pension was allowed or awarded or that the amount of a pension payable to or in respect of a person was varied and that the pension as so allowed or awarded or as so varied was at any time in course of payment to the person to whom the pension was payable, that person shall, in each case, be presumed, unless the contrary is shown, to have been in receipt of a pension of the amount so allowed or awarded or as so varied, as the case may be, from the date on which the pension of the amount so allowed or awarded or as so varied, as the case may be, became payable until the date, if any, on which the amount of the pension is varied or further varied, as the case may be, or the date on which the pension ceases to be payable, whether by reason of the death of the person or otherwise, whichever should first occur.
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[1976 (No. 2), s. 12]
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(7) Regulations under this Chapter may provide for offences consisting of contraventions of or failure to comply with such regulations and for the imposition, at the discretion of the court on summary conviction of such offences, of fines not exceeding specified amounts of not more than £500 or of imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or of both such fines and such imprisonment.
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