ACT No. XXXI of 2014 AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code, Cap. 9, and to provide for any other matters ancillary or consequential thereto.

I assent.

M ARIE L OUISE

(L.S.)

C OLEIRO P RECA

President

12th August, 2014

ACT No. XXXI of 2014

AN ACT to amend the Criminal Code, Cap. 9, and to provide for

any other matters ancillary or consequential thereto.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this present Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:-

The short title of this Act is the Criminal Code (Amendment

No. 5) Act, 2014, and this Act shall be read and construed as one with

the Criminal Code, hereinafter referred to as "the Code".

In sub-article (1) of article 222A of the Code, for the words

"himself adequately.", there shall be substituted the words "himself

adequately:" and immediately thereafter there shall be added the

following proviso

"Provided that the provisions of this article shall not apply

where an aggravation of punishment is already provided for

under this Code or any other law.".

Immediately after article 257 of the Code there shall be

added the following new Sub-title and articles

"Sub-Title XI

Of Abuse on Elderly or Dependent Persons

257A. (1) A person who knows or ought

Causing or

permitting an

to know that a person is an elder or a

elder or a

dependent adult

dependent

adult

and

who,

under

to suffer under

circumstances or conditions likely to produce

circumstances

likely to

grievous bodily harm or death, wilfully causes

produce bodily

harm or death.

or permits any elder or dependent adult to

suffer, or inflicts on such person unjustifiable

physical pain or mental suffering, or having

the care or custody of any elder or dependent

adult, wilfully causes or permits the person or

health of the elder or dependent adult to be

injured, or wilfully causes or permits the elder

or dependent adult to be placed in a situation

in which his person or health is endangered,

shall be guilty of an offence and, without

prejudice to any other punishment to which he

may be liable under any other provision of

this Code or of any other law, shall be liable

to the punishment of imprisonment for a term

from two to five years.

(2) For the purpose of this article, the

person whose course of conduct is in question

ought to know that a person is an elder or a

dependent adult if a reasonable person in

possession of the same information would

think that the said person is an elder or a

dependent adult.

(3) Where as a result of the conduct

described in sub-article (1), the victim suffers

grievous bodily harm, the punishment

provided for under sub-article (1) shall be

increased as follows

(a)

where the victim is under

seventy years of age, by one to two

degrees;

(b) where the victim is over

seventy years of age, by two to three

degrees.

257B. (1) Whosoever shall be guilty of

Grievous

bodily harm

a grievous bodily harm from which death

followed by

death.

shall ensue solely as a result of the nature or

the natural consequences of the harm caused

by the conduct described in article 257A(1)

and not of any supervening accidental cause,

shall be liable -

(a)

to imprisonment for a term

from nine to twenty years, if death shall

ensue within forty days to be reckoned

from

the

midnight

immediately

preceding the crime;

(b) to imprisonment for a term

from six to fifteen years, if death shall

ensue after the said forty days, but

within one year to be reckoned as above.

(2) If death shall ensue as a result of a

supervening accidental cause and not solely

as a result of the nature or the natural

consequences of the harm, the offender shall,

on conviction, be liable to imprisonment for a

term from five to twelve years.

(3) If the bodily harm is inflicted

within the limits of the territorial jurisdiction

of Malta, the crime shall be held to have been

completed within those limits, even if the

death of the person injured shall occur outside

those limits.

(4) The punishments provided for

under this article shall be increased as

follows

(a)

where the victim is under

seventy years of age by one to two

degrees;

(b) where the victim is over

seventy years of age by two to three

degrees.

257C. (1) A person who knows or

Causing or

permitting an

ought to know that a person is an elder or a

elder or a

dependent adult

dependent

adult

and

who,

under

to suffer under

circumstances or conditions other than those

circumstances

not likely to

likely to produce grievous bodily harm or

produce bodily

harm or death.

death, wilfully causes or permits any elder or

dependent adult to suffer, or inflicts thereon

unjustifiable physical pain or mental

suffering, or having the care or custody of any

elder or dependent adult, wilfully causes or

permits the person or health of the elder or

dependent adult to be injured or wilfully

causes or permits the elder or dependent adult

to be placed in a situation in which his or her

person or health may be endangered, shall be

guilty of an offence and, without prejudice to

any other punishment to which he may be

liable under any other provision of this Code

or of any other law, shall be liable to the

punishment of imprisonment for a term from

one to three years.

(2) Where as a result of the conduct

described in sub-article (1), the victim suffers

bodily harm, the punishment shall be

increased as follows

(a)

where the victim is under

seventy years of age by one degree;

(b) where the victim is over

seventy years of age by two degrees.

257D. (1) Any person found guilty of

Offences

relating to

any offence under Title IX of Part II of Book

crimes against

property and

First, when committed against an elder or a

public safety.

dependent adult, shall be liable to the

punishment provided for in this article

(a)

when the amount of the

damage caused by the offender exceeds

three thousand euro (€3,000) the

punishment

shall

be

that

of

imprisonment from two to nine years;

(b) when the amount of the

damage caused by the offender exceeds

two hundred and fifty euro (€250) but

does not exceed three thousand euro

(€3,000), the punishment shall be that of

imprisonment from nine months to three

years

Provided that if the punishment

laid down for the relevant offence in this

Sub-title is higher than the punishment

laid down in this paragraph, the former

punishment shall apply increased by one

degree and, in the case of the offence

under article 294, the punishment so

increased shall not be awarded in its

minimum;

(c)

when the amount of the

damage caused by the offender does not

exceed two hundred and fifty euro

(€250) the offender shall be liable to

imprisonment for a term not exceeding

six months.

(2) In addition to any punishment to

which the person convicted of an offence

under this Sub-title may be sentenced and in

addition to any penalty to which a body

corporate may become liable under the

provisions of article 121D, the court may

order the offender to make restitution to the

injured party of any property or proceeds

stolen or knowingly received or obtained by

fraud or other unlawful gain to the detriment

of such party by or through the offence or to

pay to such party such sum of money as may

be determined by the court as compensation

for any such loss as aforesaid or for any

damages or other injury or harm caused to

such party by or through the offence; and any

such order may include both a direction to

make restitution and, in default, to pay as

aforesaid. The order shall constitute an

executive title for all intents and purposes of

the Code of Organization and Civil

Procedure.

257E. (1) Whosoever, without a lawful

Unlawful

arrest,

order, arrests, detains or confines an elder or a

detention or

confinement of

dependent adult against the will of the same,

an elder or a

or in any manner restricts or impedes the free

dependent

adult.

movement and unrestrained access to an elder

or a dependent adult, shall, on conviction, be

liable to imprisonment for a term of eighteen

months to four years.

(2) Where the conduct described in

sub-article (1) has been committed through

the use of violence, force, bribery, deceit,

device or pretence, improper pressure or any

other unlawful conduct or by threats of such

conduct, the punishment shall be increased by

two to three degrees.

257F. (1) The following provisions

Applicability

of provisions.

shall apply to the offences under articles

257A to 257E.

(2) The provisions of articles 121D

and 248E(4) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

(3) Without prejudice to the provisions

of article 5, the Maltese courts shall also have

jurisdiction over the said offences where

(a)

only part of the action giving

execution to the offence took place in

Malta; or

(b) the offender is a Maltese

national or permanent resident in Malta

or the offence was committed for the

benefit of a body corporate registered in

Malta; or

(c)

the offence was committed

against a Maltese national or permanent

resident in Malta.

(4) For the purposes of this Sub-title

"elder" means a person who has

attained the age of sixty years;

"dependent adult" means a person

of age suffering from a degree of

physical or mental infirmity which

restricts his ability to carry out normal

activities or to protect his rights,

including, but not limited to, persons

who have physical or developmental

disabilities or whose physical or mental

abilities have diminished because of age

and includes any person who is admitted

as an inpatient to a 24-hour health

facility, or is a resident in, or has been

admitted to, any institution offering any

form of medical or psychological care;

"proceeds" means any economic

advantage and any property derived

from or obtained, directly or indirectly,

through the commission of the offence

and includes any income or other

benefits derived from such property;

"property" means assets of every

kind, whether corporeal or incorporeal,

movable or immovable, tangible or

intangible, and legal documents or

instruments evidencing title to, or

interest in, such assets.".

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 184 of the

25th July, 2014.

A NĠLU F ARRUGIA

Speaker

R AYMOND S CICLUNA

Clerk of the House of Representatives