More severe penalties for hijacking, piracy, armed robbery

Jun 27, 2008 News

Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee, yesterday tabled, successfully, the Hijacking and Piracy Bill aimed at increasing the penalties for the offences given that provisions of the Criminal Laws (Offences) Act (Cap.8:01) relating to robbery and piracy are not stringent enough to have a deterrent effect on the crime.

According to the explanatory memorandum accompanying the Bill, “Of late, there have been a considerable number of cases where sea-going vessels are hijacked or otherwise attacked, the passenger boats crossing rivers are robbed or the fishing boats fishing in the rivers and territorial waters of Guyana are looted by armed robbers or pirates.

”It adds that if piracy, armed robbery and hijacking continue to be unchecked by deterrent punishment, the fishermen will reduce their fishing activities, the country’s food security will be jeopardized and the exports diminished. The memorandum noted also that passengers will be under constant threat of fear and in the circumstances it has become necessary to have stringent measures to deal with these menaces.
“This Bill, therefore, seeks to make special provisions for punishment for the offences of armed robbery, hijacking and piracy committed in rivers, internal waters and territorial sea of Guyana and the high seas.”
When assented to, under the new piece of legislation, piracy will carry a sentence of life imprisonment together with a fine of not less than $200,000.
It also stipulates that any vessel or weapons used in the commission of the act will be forfeited to the State. Piracy, according to the Bill, is defined as any illegal act of violence or detention or any act of depredation committed for private ends by any person on board including the crew or passengers of a private vessel and directed on the rivers, internal waters or territorial sea of Guyana against another vessel, or persons or property on board such vessel.
The act also seeks to increase the penalty for the commission of robbery under arms to life imprisonment.
The commission of murder during the act of piracy will see person(s) sentenced to death on conviction.
Hijacking a vessel could make the perpetrator also liable to conviction on indictment to imprisonment for life together with a fine of $1M.
As it relates to bail, under the new legislation bail will not be granted to a person accused of murder while committing the act of piracy.

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More severe penalties for hijacking, piracy, armed robbery

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