A man ran his car on to a policeman’s foot accidentally, but when asked to move refused to do so. The defence argument was that mens rea and actus reus did not coincide and therefore there was no crime. However the court said that Fagan’s actions constituted a continuous action. Intent can be superimposed onto a guilty act. Fagan undertook actions so as to prolong the policeman’s pian (turning off the ignition, holding the wheel in position on the policeman’s foot, saying words that indicated reluctance to move etc) which cannot be regarded as mere inactivity.
