s 412 Receiving property stolen in the commission of a gang-robbery
412.—(1) Whoever receives or retains any stolen property, the possession whereof he knows or has reason to believe to have been transferred by the commission of gang‑robbery, or receives from a person, whom he knows or has reason to believe to belong or to have belonged to gang‑robbers, property which he knows or has reason to believe to have been stolen, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 20 years, and shall also be liable to fine.[15/2019] (2) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to prove that he has a reasonable excuse to receive or retain the property and that he exercised reasonable care as soon as practicable after having the knowledge or reason to believe mentioned in that subsection.Illustration A box of valuable jewels is delivered by courier to A’s office. A later discovers the jewels and learns from the news reports that there was a gang robbery of jewels in the vicinity. A has reason to believe that the jewels were stolen in the gang robbery. As soon as practicable after this discovery, A keeps the jewels in the safe and travels to the police station to make a report of the jewels and express his belief that the jewels were stolen by gang‑robbers. A has a reasonable excuse for receiving and retaining the jewels pending their retrieval by the police and has exercised reasonable care. [15/2019]