direct body to body contact, such as slapping or giving a person a fist blow, grabbing hold of a person by the neck, beating up a person with hands, or by kicking with feet, etc. Also, the contact may be indirect. Examples of Battery Battery can be committed in many different ways, for instance: Beating with a stick, pouring water on a person, or shooting a person with a gun. Knocking a person down, or running a person down with a motor vehicle. Spitting on a person's face or throwing stone at a person. See R v Lynsey (1995) 3 All ER 654 CA. Removing a chair from under a person who thereby falls to the ground. Pulling a person away from something for his own good. Setting a dog to attack a person, etc. See Lawal v DSP (1975) 2 WSCA 72 There is battery where for instance C without lawful justification slaps D on the face, or pushes D. So also it is battery to cut a plaintiffs hair without his consent, or to wrongfully take a person's fingerprint. However, where a person has been detained, charged or told that he will be charged with an offence punishable with imprisonment, the fingerprints may be taken without consent under criminal law. Elements of Battery: What Needs To Be Proved What a plaintiff needs to prove to succeed in a claim for battery are: Application of force; and Intention to apply force Also, a plaintiff may prove and recover any damage he has suffered. We shall briefly examine these. That there was Application of Force: There must be application of force on the plaintiff, no matter how slight. However, common forms of social touching that are reasonable and are generally acceptable are not battery, principally, because they are not regarded as tortuous and there is implied consent to such touching. Examples of reasonable