§710-1017  Tampering with a government
record.  (1)  A person commits the offense of tampering with a government
record if:



(a) The person knowingly and falsely makes,
completes, or alters, or knowingly makes a false entry in, a written instrument
which is or purports to be a government record or a true copy thereof; or



(b) The person knowingly presents or uses a written
instrument which is or purports to be a government record or a true copy
thereof, knowing that it has been falsely made, completed, or altered, or that
a false entry has been made therein, with intent that it be taken as genuine;
or



(c) The person knowingly records, registers, or
files, or offers for recordation, registration, or filing, in a governmental
office or agency, a written statement which has been falsely made, completed,
or altered, or in which a false entry has been made, or which contains a false
statement or false information; or



(d) Knowing the person lacks the authority to do so:



(i)  The person intentionally destroys,
mutilates, conceals, removes, or otherwise impairs the availability of any
government records; or



(ii)  The person refuses to deliver up a
government record in the person's possession upon proper request of a public
servant entitled to receive such record for examination or other purposes.



(2)  For the purpose of this section,
"government record" includes all official books, papers, written
instruments, or records created, issued, received, or kept by any governmental
office or agency or required by law to be kept by others for the information of
the government.



(3)  Tampering with government records is a
misdemeanor. [L 1972, c 9, pt of §1; am L 1991, c 145, §2; gen ch 1993]



 



COMMENTARY ON §710-1017



 



  This section is intended to penalize conduct which undermines
confidence in the accuracy of public records.  The accuracy of public records
is essential to efficient public administration and, beyond the immediate
context of public administration, the government has an interest in protecting
public confidence in its records.



  This section does not require that the misuse of the public
record be with intent to defraud another, i.e., to injure an interest which has
value, as do the sections on forgery.  Nor does this section require that the
information made part of the public record, or offered for recordation,
registration, or filing, be under oath or sworn to, as do the sections on
perjury and related offenses.  Those offenses, however, do complement the
offense of tampering with public records, but they deal directly, and in a more
precise context, with the aggravated circumstances presented.



  This section is also addressed to the problem of access to
public records.  Obviously, acts of destruction and concealment impair the
efficiency of public administration.  Subsection (1)(d)(i) is intended
primarily to cover acts of destruction, concealment, or impairment by
individuals vis-a-vis the government, whereas subsection (1)(d)(ii) is intended
primarily to cover the situation where a public servant refuses to surrender
records to another public servant when the public servant has the duty to do
so.  Both clauses of this subsection are, however, worded broadly in order to
cover acts of destruction, concealment, or retention outside their areas of
immediate concern.



  Subsection (2) is intended to be inclusive and to cover not
only records traditionally considered "public" but also information
kept for the benefit of the government, such as medical prescription records.



  Previous Hawaii law on tampering with public records is
similar to the code,[1] however the Code covers acts of tampering not covered
under prior law, clarifies the acts that are covered, and dispenses with the
former, archaic requirement of "malice" as it relates to this offense.



 



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§710-1017 Commentary:



 



1.  H.R.S. §753-3.