Legal Analysis
The landlord only refunded half of the deposit. If there is no relevant agreement and the amount is relatively large, it may constitute the crime of embezzlement. Deposits can be considered property that needs to be kept. The crime of embezzlement refers to the act of illegally possessing property, lost objects or buried objects for the purpose of illegal possession. The subject of this crime is a general subject. Any natural person who is over 16 years old and has the capacity for criminal responsibility can commit this crime. This crime must be subjectively intentional, that is, knowingly knowing that it belongs to property, forgotten objects or buried objects entrusted to you by others, but still illegally taking it as your own. The objects of the crime are limited to three types of property: first, other people's property kept for safekeeping; second, other people's forgotten things, which are not equal to lost things and different from lost things; third, other people's burial objects. The object of the infringement is the property ownership of others; the object of this crime is the property, forgotten objects, and buried objects entrusted by others to be kept by others; objectively, it manifests as illegal possession of property, forgetting the things or buried objects entrusted by others to be kept by others, and refusing to do so if the amount is relatively large. The act of returning; the criminal subject is a general subject. Subjectively, it is direct intention and has the purpose of illegally possessing other people's property. The criminal object of this crime is the property, forgotten objects, and buried objects entrusted by others for safekeeping. The so-called property of others entrusted to oneself for safekeeping refers to the property that one collects and manages for others through the entrustment of others or in accordance with the contract or relevant regulations. The so-called forgetting of other people's things refers to the property that should have been taken away due to one's own intention, such as forgetting things on the counter, playing in other people's homes, taking a taxi and forgetting things in the car, etc. It should be pointed out that forgotten things are not the same as lost things.
Legal Basis
Article 270 of the "Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China" Whoever illegally possesses other people's property for safekeeping and refuses to return a relatively large amount shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years , criminal detention or a fine; if the amount is huge or there are other serious circumstances, he shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than two years but not more than five years and shall also be fined. Anyone who illegally takes possession of other people's forgotten or buried items as his own, if the amount is relatively large, and refuses to hand it over, shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. This sin can only be dealt with by speaking it out.