Taking motor vehicle or other conveyance without authority

(1) Subject to sub-sections (4) and (5), a person shall be guilty of a felony if, without having the consent of the owner or other lawful authority, he takes any conveyance for his own or another’s use or, knowing that any conveyance has been taken without such authority, drives it or allows himself to be carried in or on it. (2) A person guilty of an offence under sub-section (1) shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years. (3) If on the trial of an indictment for theft the jury are not satisfied that the accused committed theft, but it is proved that the accused committed an offence under sub-section (1) the jury may find him guilty of the offence under subsection (1). (4) Sub-section (1) shall not apply in relation to pedal cycles; but subject to sub-section (5) a person who, without having the consent of the owner or other lawful authority, takes a pedal cycle for his own or another’s use, or rides a pedal cycle knowing it to have been taken without such authority, shall on summary conviction be liable to a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars. (5) A person does not commit an offence under this section by anything done in the belief that he has lawful authority to do 111 it or that he would have the owner’s consent if the owner knew of his doing it and the circumstances of it. (6) For purposes of this section– (a) means any constructed or adapted for the carriage of a person or persons whether by land, water or air, except that it does not include a conveyance, constructed or adapted for use only under the control of a person not carried in or on it, and “drive” shall be construed accordingly; and (b) “owner”, in relation to a conveyance which is the subject of a hiring agreement or hire- purchase agreement, means the person in possession of the conveyance under that