Criminal Justice Act 2011
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Concealing facts disclosed by documents. |
17.— (1) Any person who— | |
(a) knows or suspects that an investigation by the Garda Síochána into a relevant offence, other than an offence to which section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 applies, is being or is likely to be carried out, and | ||
(b) falsifies, conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of a document or record which he or she knows or suspects is or would be relevant to the investigation or causes or permits its falsification, concealment, destruction or disposal, | ||
shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(2) Where a person— | ||
(a) falsifies, conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of a document, or | ||
(b) causes or permits its falsification, concealment, destruction or disposal, | ||
in such circumstances that it is reasonable to conclude that the person knew or suspected— | ||
(i) that an investigation by the Garda Síochána into a relevant offence, other than an offence to which section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 applies, was being or was likely to be carried out, and | ||
(ii) that the document was or would be relevant to the investigation, | ||
he or she shall be taken for the purposes of this section to have so known or suspected, unless the court or the jury, as the case may be, is satisfied having regard to all the evidence that there is a reasonable doubt as to whether he or she so knew or suspected. | ||
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable— | ||
(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or | ||
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both. | ||
(4) This section shall not affect the operation of section 51 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 insofar as that section applies to offences that are relevant offences. |