Parliament will debate the Crimes Amendment Bill tomorrow which proposes to increase the maximum penalty of assaulting a police officer from 5 years imprisonment to 10 years imprisonment.
While tabling the bill, Acting Prime Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says the current act fails to provide sufficient deterrence against actions which not only hinder the enforcement of the law but also endanger lives of the men and women as they carry out their duties.
He says the Police Force is one institution that must be safeguarded.
Sayed-Khaiyum says respect for the Police was really affected after the 1987 coup.
Under the bill people can face imprisonment of upto 10 years if the person assaults a police officer in any of the following circumstances— he or she bites, spits on or throws at the police officer, or otherwise applies to the police officer a bodily fluid or human or animal faeces; he or she is, or pretends to be, armed with a dangerous or offensive weapon or instrument; or he or she causes bodily harm to the police officer.
