Mines and Quarries Act 1954

161Forgery of certificates, false statements, and c

(1)If a person—

(a)with intent to deceive, forges or uses or lends to, or allows to be used by, another person a certificate granted under or by virtue of this Act by the Minister, or makes or has in his possession a document so closely resembling any such certificate as to be calculated to deceive; or

(b)for the purpose of obtaining for himself or another person—

(i)the grant of any such certificate or the issue of a duplicate thereof or the restoration of any such certificate or a shortening of any period for which any such certificate is suspended ; or

(ii)employment as manager or under-manager of a mine or as surveyor for a mine, or employment in an office the appointment to which is required by or by virtue of this Act to be made by the manager of a mine; or

(iii)employment as manager of a quarry or employment in an office the appointment to which is required by regulations having effect by virtue of section one hundred and six of this Act to be made by the owner or a manager of a quarry,

makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular, or produces, furnishes, sends or otherwise makes use of a document which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly produces, furnishes, sends or otherwise makes use of a document which is false in a material particular; or

(c)wilfully makes a false entry in any register, book, notice or other document required by or by virtue of this Act to be kept, served or given or, with intent to deceive, makes use of any such entry which he knows to be false; or

(d)in purported compliance with a requirement imposed by or by virtue of this Act to furnish any returns, statistics or other information or to inform a person of the substance of any instructions, makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular; or

(e)discloses any return, statistics or other information in contravention of this Act; or

(f)on being required under paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section one hundred and forty-five of this Act to mark on a plan the state of any workings, marks it thereon in a way which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly marks it thereon in a way which is false in a material particular; or

(g)falsely pretends to be an inspector ;

he shall be guilty of an offence, and liable—

(i)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to both ;

(ii)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to a fine not exceeding two hundred pounds or to both.

(2)In this section the expression "forges" has, in the application thereof to England and Wales, the same meaning as in the Forgery Act, 1913.