SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT 1953 - SECT 6A
SUMMARY OFFENCES ACT 1953 - SECT 6A
(1) If 3 or more
persons who are present together use or threaten unlawful violence and the
conduct of them (taken together) is such as would cause a person of reasonable
firmness present at the scene to fear for his or her personal safety, each of
the persons using or threatening unlawful violence is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000 or imprisonment for 2 years.
(2) It is immaterial
whether or not the 3 or more persons use or threaten unlawful violence
simultaneously.
(3) No person of
reasonable firmness need actually be, or be likely to be, present at the
scene.
(4) An offence under
subsection (1) may be committed in private as well as in public places.
(5) A person is guilty
of an offence under subsection (1) only if he or she intends to use or
threaten violence or is aware that his or her conduct may be violent or
threaten violence.
(6)
Subsection (5) does not affect the determination for the purposes of
subsection (1) of the number of persons who use or threaten violence.
(7) In this
section—
"violence" means any violent conduct, so that—
(a) it
includes violent conduct towards property as well as violent conduct towards
persons; and
(b) it
is not restricted to conduct causing or intended to cause injury or damage but
includes any other violent conduct.
Example—
Throwing at, or towards, a person a missile of a kind capable of causing
injury which does not hit, or falls short of, the person.