Conviction for breach of trust by a senior employee

Facts

The appellant X. was employed as a department head and vice-director at the company Z. A.-G. Without the knowledge of the company management, he set up a working group in his department that, over the course of about a year, designed additional machines for presses, the manufacture and distribution of which he jointly operated with company B. This caused a loss to the company Z. A.-G. of around 26,800 Swiss francs in paid wages and through the use of drawing materials. The High Court of the Canton of Y. convicted X. of continued and profit-motivated breach of trust.

Considerations

The SCC holds that the term "business management" within the meaning of Art. 159 SCC not only encompasses legal representation towards the outside, but also the actual care for foreign assets. As a department head and vice-director with discretionary power over the company's resources and personnel, X. was a manager within the meaning of Art. 159 SCC.

By having the employees under his supervision work partly permanently for his secret enterprise instead of for company I, X. damaged the assets of…