You can commit an offence if you lose or wastefully expend service property. This property is issued for your use or entrusted to your care for your duties. You can be imprisoned for up to 2 years for this offence. If you are charged with this offence, you can defend yourself by proving you took reasonable steps to care for the property. This means you must show you did what a reasonable person would do to preserve the property. You must prove this to avoid being found guilty. You are responsible for service property given to you for your duties. You must take care of it to avoid losing it or wasting it. This is important to remember when you are given service property to use or care for.
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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM402757.
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Every person subject to this Act commits an offence, and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years, who—
In any proceedings in respect of an offence against subsection (1), it is a defence to the charge if the accused proves that he took reasonable steps for the care and preservation of the property to which the proceedings relate.
