A man discovers that his wife has a lover. He goes to the lover's house, intending to speak with him. He knocks on the door, but there is no answer. He sees an open window and climbs inside the house. He calls out for the lover but realises that he is out. The man looks around the house to see what he can discover. He finds a permanent marker pen. He writes on the wall 'cheating scum', puts the pen down, and then leaves the house by the window.
Is the man responsible for committing burglary?
A man discovers that his wife has a lover. He goes to the lover's house, intending to speak with him. He knocks on the door, but there is no answer. He sees an open window and climbs inside the house. He calls out for the lover but realises that he is out. The man looks around the house to see what he can discover. He finds a permanent marker pen. He writes on the wall 'cheating scum', puts the pen down, and then leaves the house by the window.
Is the man responsible for committing burglary?
No, because the man lacked mens rea at the point of entry and did not commit an underlying offence after entry.
(D) There are two types of burglary, and neither of them applies to the situation presented here. To qualify as burglary, the defendant must knowingly or recklessly enter a building as a trespasser. The first type occurs when the defendant intends to steal, commit grievous bodily harm ('GBH'), or commit criminal damage at the point of entry to the property as a trespasser. However, in this case, the man did not intend to commit criminal damage upon entering the property. The second type of burglary occurs when the defendant enters the building as a trespasser and then commits an underlying offence, which can be theft, attempted theft, GBH, or attempted GBH. However, the man did not commit any of these underlying offences.
Option (A) is incorrect as criminal damage is not an underlying offence for burglary.
Option (B) is incorrect as there is no requirement for malicious intent.
Option (C) is incorrect as provocation is not a defence known in law.
Finally, option (E) is incorrect as other offences can also underlie burglary.