Malicious damage to property

Dispatcher Files

The question sometimes comes up as to: When does malicious damage to property occur? When was it an accident? Was there an intention to do damage, etc?

Malicious damage to property is the unlawful and intentional damaging of property that belongs to another person and this is a crime under South African law.

This damage must be to something physical like harming your pets or livestock, or intentional damage to any other possession, such as your furniture, appliances, building, vehicles or any other tangible thing, causing you financial loss.

In cases of trivial damage our courts will not convict. For example, if someone takes a water hose and sprays water all over your car, or your neighbour mows some part of your lawn, the court sees this as de minimis non curat lex, which, in layman’s terms means ‘the law takes no account of trifling matters’. Of Course, using the spraying with a hose as an example, if someone sprays your flowers or seedlings and they wash away, then you have suffered damage and the court may evict in such a case.

Any such damage must be intentional and not accidental. If something happens due to negligence, like a car accident, then such a person cannot be charged with malicious damage to property because there was no intention. If a person, in the process of defending themselves or their property for example shoots a dog which is attacking his livestock on his land, he cannot be held liable in terms of malicious damage to property, because he has a right to defend his property on his land.

ERPC Dispatcher: Michael (SA37)
TrackBox ERPC National & International
08616-TRACK
08616-87225
https://trackbox.world | https://t.me/BriansPD

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*Dispatcher files are reports detailing the experience of the dispatcher as they deal with emergencies and so are recorded after the fact.