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Malicious Communications Act 1988

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1Offence of sending letters etc. with intent to cause distress or anxiety

(1)Any person who sends to another person—

(a)a letter or other article which conveys—

(i)a message which is indecent or grossly offensive;

(ii)a threat; or

(iii)information which is false and known or believed to be false by the sender; or

(b)any other article which is, in whole or part, of an indecent or grossly offensive nature,

is guilty of an offence if his purpose, or one of his purposes, in sending it is that it should, so far as falling within paragraph (a) or (b) above, cause distress or anxiety to the recipient or to any other person to whom he intends that it or its contents or nature should be communicated.

(2)A person is not guilty of an offence by virtue of subsection (1)(a)(ii) above if he shows—

(a)that the threat was used to reinforce a demand which he believed he had reasonable grounds for making; and

(b)that he believed that the use of the threat was a proper means of reinforcing the demand.

(3)In this section references to sending include references to delivering and to causing to be sent or delivered and “sender” shall be construed accordingly.

(4)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

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