Puffing Devil
Established Member
- Joined
- 11 Apr 2013
- Messages
- 2,771
There is no criminal record offence in those circumstances. You have to prove nothing.The burden of proof is on the TOC to prove you intended to avoid paying the fare. If you threw the ticket in the bin and have told them that then that is it. It is not a question of if they believe you or not. They have no evidence that you attempted to avoid payment. They can think or believe what they like until the cows come home. Courts want evidence. Just a bye law offence, a fine at worst.
Very poor opinion. This could easily be a nailed-on conviction under the Regulation of Railways Act
RoRA 1889 5(1) said:Every passenger by a railway shall, on request by an officer or servant of a railway company, either produce, and if so requested deliver up, a ticket showing that his fare is paid, or pay his fare from the place whence he started, or give the officer or servant his name and address; and in case of default shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [...] on the standard scale.
The requirement is for a passenger to have a ticket and produce it on request. Fail to do so and the offence is complete. No question of throwing it away earlier.