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CHILD CAREAND PROTECTION
Cruelty
to
children.
9.-(1)
A
person commits an offence if that person, being an
adult and having the custody, charge or care of any child
willfully-
(a)
assaults, physically or mentally ill-treats, neglects,
abandons or exposes such child; or
(b) causes or procures the child to be assaulted, physically
0
or mentally ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or
exposed,
in a manner likely to cause that child unnecessary suffering or
injury to health (including injury to or loss of sight, or hearing,
or limb, or prgan of the body, or any mental derangement).
(2)
A
person who commits an offence under subsection
(1)
shall be liable-
(a) on conviction on indictment in a Circuit Court.
to
a
fine or to imprisonment with hard labour for a t e m not
exceeding five years, or to both such fine and
imprisonment;
(b) on summary conviction before a Resident Magistrate,
to a fine not exceeding one million dollars or to
imprisonment with hard labour for a term not
exceeding three years, or to both such fine and
imprisonment.
(3)
For the purposes of this section, the persons specified
in paragraphs (a) to (c) shall, in the circumstances described in
those paragraphs, be deemed to have neglected a child in
a
manner likely to cause injury to the child's health, that is to
say-
(a) a parent or other person legally liable to maintain the
child who, being able to do so, fails to provide for the
child in accordance with any duty imposed by section
27 or
28;
(b) an adult with whom an infant under three years of age
was in a bed, where it is proved that-
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by
L.N.
1 1
1/2005]