ABSTRACT
To most people, a ‘deception’ is usually defined as ‘the act of deceiving or the state of being deceived’ and to ‘deceive’ is ‘to mislead by misrepresentation or lies’.204 For the purposes of this offence, ‘deception’ is said to mean any deception whether deliberate or reckless by words or conduct as to fact or as to law, including a deception as to the present intentions of the person using the deception or any other person.205 Such a deception will usually be as to fact and may be regarded as words or conduct producing a mistaken belief, such as where a customer orders a meal in a restaurant and the waiter takes his order and serves him food believing he will pay. Such a customer is representing by implication that he will pay the bill before leaving the restaurant and that representation continues until the bill is paid.206 In very general terms,
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‘deception’ is perhaps similar to the concept of ‘deceit’ in the law of tort and that of ‘fraud’ in the law of contract.
