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Published Friday, March 13, 2020
Jail sentence
for people who abandon elderlyBy the A.M. Costa Rica staff The deputies of Congress approved Wednesday the bill No.19.438, entitled Law that penalizes the abandonment of the elderly. According to Congress, the term abandonment includes physical and psychological harm. With this approval, a new article will be added in the Criminal Law describing the prison sentence for the crime of abandonment of an elderly person. The new type of sentence punishes both the total abandonment of the elderly and abandonment of the eldery in a hospital or hospice. In both cases, the penalty would be from three to 10 years in prison. In case of abandonment, whether in the street, home, hospital, hospice or other, the sentence is imprisonment of three to 6 years, when the crime is committed by a relative or the person responsible for taking care of the elderly. In case of abandonment causing the death of the elderly, the prison sentence is from six to 10 years. According to the deputies, in Costa Rica there is an increase in the number of older adults, which means a generational change, so they must take actions to protect this population. "This law is a call to attention to that obligation that we have as a society to take care of our elderlies, the family and then the government must support the family," said Deputy Catalina Montero, who voted in favor of the new law. In Costa Rica the National Council of the Elderly is the institution in charge of solving conflicts that affect the elderly. According to the Council, the demographic changes that have occurred in Costa Rica in recent decades have led to protections for the elderly. The decrease in the number of children being born and the increase in life expectancy significantly modified the age structure of the population. As mortality decreases, more people survive to old ages. This period of time in which the working-age population increases is what has been called the demographic bonus. It has impactful implications for the country's development possibilities. The relationship between those of working age and those of dependent ages, as elderlies, has changed, said the council. For example, in 1970, for every 100 people of working age, there were another hundred people as a dependent. Now, this ratio is 48 dependents for every hundred people of working age. -------------------------------- What is the penalty in your country for abandoning an elderly? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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