(1)This section applies where a person is convicted on or after the date of commencement of the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018 2022of an offence specified in subsection (3) (called in this section the offender) against a vulnerable adult2020person2020.
Section history
Section 74A — Enhanced penalties for offences against vulnerable persons
Consolidated view is experimental and may be broken for certain provisions.
Amendments
(2)The court may sentence the offender to punishment not exceeding one and a half times2020twice2020 the maximum punishment that the court could, but for this section, impose for the offence, if at the time of committing the offence the offender knew or ought reasonably to have known that the victim was a vulnerable adult2020person2020.
(2A)This section does not apply where the offender proves that despite being a vulnerable person the victim was capable of protecting himself from the offender in respect of the harm caused by the offence in the same manner as an ordinary person who is not a vulnerable person.
(3)The offence mentioned in subsection (1) is any of the following offences:2020to which this section applies is any offence under this Code which may be committed against a vulnerable person except an offence —2020
(a)an offence under section 304A, 323, 324, 325, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 341, 342, 343, 344, 346, 347, 352, 354(1), 355, 357, 358, 376G, 508 or 509;2020under section 304B, 304C, 335A or 376F; or2020
(b)an offence of criminal intimidation which is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 2 years, or with fine, or with both, under section 506.2020punishable with death or imprisonment for life.2020
(4)Despite anything to the contrary in the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68)2020 2010 2021—
(a)a Magistrate’s Court has jurisdiction to try the offences punishable under sections 304A(a), 338(a) and 376G, and2020specified in subsection (3), where no imprisonment is prescribed or where twice the maximum term of imprisonment prescribed for the offence does not exceed 5 years, and has2020 power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences; and
(b)a District Court has jurisdiction to try the offences punishable under sections 324 and 325, and2020specified in subsection (3) and has2020 power to impose the full punishment provided under subsection (2) in respect of those offences.
Subsection (5) — Original text to 1 January 2020superseded
(5)In this section, “vulnerable adult” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018.
Subsection (5) — From 1 January 2020 (current)restructured by Criminal Law Reform Act 2019
(5)In this section —
“abuse” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018 (Act 27 of 2018);20212018;2021
“self-neglect” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Vulnerable Adults Act 2018;
“vulnerable person” means an individual who is, by reason of mental or physical infirmity, disability or incapacity, substantially unable to protect himself from abuse, neglect or self-neglect.