Section 39 — Crimes Act 1914: Destroying evidence

(1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person knows that a book, document or thing of any kind is, or may be, required in evidence in a judicial proceeding; and (b) the person: (i) destroys the book, document or thing; or (ii) renders the book, document or thing illegible, undecipherable or incapable of identification; and (c) the person does so with the intention of preventing the book, document or thing from being used in evidence; and (d) the judicial proceeding is a federal judicial proceeding. Penalty: Imprisonment for 5 years. (2) Absolute liability applies to the paragraph (1)(d) element of the offence. Note: For absolute liability, see section 6.2 of the Criminal Code.