UK to impose jail term for possession of corrosive acid

By Aditi KhannaLondon, Oct 14 (PTI) The UK government is to impose aminimum six-month jail sentence on anyone caught carryingcorrosive substances...
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By Aditi KhannaLondon, Oct 14 (PTI) The UK government is to impose aminimum six-month jail sentence on anyone caught carryingcorrosive substances like acid in public twice as part ofefforts to tackle such crimes.

The new legislation would make it an offence to possess acorrosive substance in public and any individual caught withthe substance would have to prove they had good reason forpossessing it.

"We treat it as seriously as we treat knives. So we areintroducing this possession offence with a similar regime tothat of knives so that if you are caught a second time inpossession you have a mandatory sentence," said UK Home Officeminister Sarah Newton.

The new legislation proposals have been released as partof a Home Office consultation document today and will comeinto effect by the end of the year.

The consultation document says it is not intended that"corrosive substance" will be defined in legislation, as theoffence "must be flexible enough to cover a range of possiblesituations: from someone possessing a corrosive substance in apublic place that if used as a weapon can leave life-changinginjuries; through to someone using a less harmful corrosivesubstance which if used as a weapon can still be veryunpleasant to the victim but the effect is not lasting".

A new offence to stop the sale of acids and the mostharmful corrosive substances to people younger than 18 is alsoa part of the consultation process.

UK police recorded 408 attacks using corrosive substancesbetween November 2016 and April this year.

"The use of corrosive substances as a weapon is centuriesold, but whilst the number of offences is relatively small, weare concerned about its increasing use as a weapon," the HomeOffice consultation says.

The proposals also cover online retailers if they deliverknives to a buyerÂ’s home, in a measure aimed at clamping downon the sale of blades to children and teenagers.

The steps form part of a drive to tackle violent crimefollowing a surge in offences recorded by police. PTI AKNSA.

This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.

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