Offences punishable as petty misdemeanours

(1) A person who, (i) unlawfully and willfully damages any public building, wall, parapet, sluice, bridge, causeway, jetty, road, path, paving, sewer, watercourse or other public property within Belize; Breaking lamp, etc., set up for convenience. (ii) wantonly or maliciously breaks or injures any lamp or lamp-post, or any gate, post, paling, railing, wall or steps set up for public or private convenience, or any tiles, slates, shingles, sign- boards or windows; Taking things in exchange from boat. (iii) knowingly takes in exchange from any boatman or other person not being the owner of any boat any thing belonging to any boat in any harbour, river or creek adjacent thereto, or to any part of the cargo of any such boat, or any stores or articles in charge of the owner or master of any such boat; Cutting or destroying ropes, etc., of boat. (iv) unlawfully cuts, damages or destroys any of the ropes, cables, cordage, tackle, headfasts or machinery or other furniture of or belonging to any boat lying in any harbour or river, or in a creek adjacent thereto, with 11 intent to steal or otherwise unlawfully obtain it or any part thereof; or (v) looses, pierces, cuts, opens, breaks or otherwise injures any cask, box or package containing wines, spirits or other liquors on board any boat, or in or upon any warehouse, wharf, quay, jetty or bank, with intent feloniously to steal or otherwise unlawfully obtain any part of the contents thereof, or runs to waste any part of the contents thereof; Damaging casks on board boat. Causing package to be broken open. (vi) willfully causes to be broken, pierced, started, cut, torn or otherwise injured, any cask, chest, bag or other package containing any goods while on board any boat lying in any river or any jetty, creek, wharf, quay, beach, bank, waterside or landing-place adjacent to it, or on its way to or from any warehouse with that the contents of such package or part thereof may be spilled or dropped from such package or be otherwise wasted, destroyed or injured; (vii) commits any of the mentioned in paragraphs (xxix), (xxx) and (xxxi) of section 4 (1) of this section, having been previously deemed an idle and disorderly person; maintain family, etc. (viii) pretends or professes to tell fortunes, Pretence to tell fortunes. or uses any subtle craft or device by palmistry, obeah or any such like superstitious means to deceive and 12 impose upon any whomsoever; Spreading false news. (ix) maliciously fabricates or knowingly spreads abroad or publishes, whether by writing or by word of mouth or otherwise, any false news or false report tending to create or foster public alarm or to prod- duce public detriment; or Wandering or lodging in unoccupied building, etc. (x) wanders abroad and lodges in any outhouse or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in the open air, or in any vehicle or boat, not having visible means of subsistence and not giving a good account of himself; exhibition. (xi) willfully exposes to view in any street or any public place, or in the window of any house or shop in any street or public place, any obscene print, picture or other indecent exhibition; Exposing person (xii) willfully, openly, lewdly or obscenely exposes his person in any street, river or harbour, or in any place in view thereof, or in any place of public resort; Gathering alms. (xiii) wanders abroad and endeavours by the exposure of wounds or deformities to obtain or gather alms; Fraudulently obtaining charitable contributions. (xiv) goes about as a gatherer or collector of alms, or endeavours to procure charitable contributions of any nature 13 or kind under any false or fraudulent pretence; or (xv) runs away and leaves his wife or his Running away from family. or her child or children chargeable, or whereby she or they or any of them becomes chargeable, on any public fund; house-breaking implements. (xvi) has in his custody or possession any pick-lock, key, crow, jack, jemmy, bit or other implement with intent feloniously to break into any dwelling- house, warehouse, store, shop, office, church, chapel, cellar, boiling-house, curing-house, distilling-house, out-house, stable or building, or is armed with any gun, pistol, hanger, cutlass, machete, sheathknife, razor, club, bludgeon or other offensive weapon with intent to commit any felonious act; (xvii) is found in or upon any dwelling- dwelling-house. house, warehouse, stable or out- house, or in any or unenclosed yard, garden, court or other place for any unlawful purpose, or being found in any of those places, does not give a satisfactory account of himself; (xviii) being a suspected person or reputed Frequent harbours, etc., to commit felony. thief frequents any harbour, river, canal or navigable stream, dock or basin, or any quay, or warehouse near or adjoining thereto, or any place of public resort, or any avenue leading thereto or any street, 14 or any place adjacent to any street with intent to commit a felony; person assaulting police officer. (xix) being apprehended for an offence on conviction of which he may be deemed an idle and disorderly person, violently resists any police officer so apprehending him, and is subsequently convicted of the offence for which he has been so Entangling kite with telephone. (xx) allows any kite or the tail, string or any portion thereof or any sort or description of hanging therefrom or attached thereto, to fall on or become entangled with any telephone, telegraph or electric light wire; Affixing placard, etc., on building. (xxi) without due authority affixes or to affix any placard, advertisement, notice, list, document, board or other thing on, or paints, tars, marks, cuts, disfigures or drives nails or any other thing into any post, building, erection or other thing whatever used in the construction, maintenance, working or management of any electric light system or of any telegraph or telephone system in Belize; Discharging fire- arms in public. (xxii) in any street or in any public place or private enclosure, or in any house or in any yard or lot whether open or enclosed, or in or on any other place whatever within any of the towns or villages of Belize or within one hundred yards outside the limits of any such town or village, wantonly or without reasonable excuse discharges any firearms; or (xxiii) throws or discharges any fireworks Fireworks. or sets any bon-fire, or causes any fireworks to be thrown or discharged or any bonfire to be set, without the written permission of a police officer first had and obtained, is guilty of a petty misdemeanour. (2) In relation to paragraphs (xxii) and (xxiii) of subsection (1) of this section, (a) in addition to any punishment to which any person offending against either of those paragraphs may be liable, all firearms or fireworks found on or in the possession of any such offender shall be liable to be forfeited; and (b) any person convicted under either of those paragraphs after a previous conviction for the same offence shall be liable to imprisonment without the option of a fine for any period not exceeding six months. (3) In relation to paragraph (xxiii) of subsection (1) of this section, the permission mentioned therein shall specify the area within, the day upon and the hours between which such fireworks may be thrown or discharged or bonfire set, and the conditions, if any, upon which the permission is granted. (4) A person guilty of a petty misdemeanour shall be liable as follows, 16 (a) for the first offence, to a fine not exceeding three hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months; (b) for a second or subsequent offence (whether it be the same or any other petty misdemeanour), to a fine not exceeding six hundred dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year.