Recently, Guyana has witnessed an increase in kidnapping, something which was rare in the 1990s.

In response, the Ministry of Home Affairs introduced a Kidnapping Bill 2002 - Bill No. 15 of 2002.

The Bill had its first reading in the National Assembly on December 5, 2002 at the 1st Sitting of the National Assembly of the Second Session of the Eighth Parliament of Guyana, held in the Conference Centre of the Ocean View International Hotel, Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.

Minister of Home Affairs Mr. Ronald Gajraj, on the Government's behalf presented the Bill headed AN ACT to provide for the punishment of the offences of abduction, wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement for ransom and other related offences.

In the Act, an abductor is said to be a person who by force or fear compels, or by any deceitful means induces a person to be removed from a given place.

The Bill proposes a fine of $750,000 plus imprisonment of five years for any person found guilty of this offence.

A person guilty of wrongful restraint is one, according to the Bill, who obstructs another person from proceeding in any direction in which that person has the right to proceed. Such an offender is liable on summary conviction to a fine of $100,000 and to imprisonment for three years.

A person is guilty of wrongful confinement when he/she restrains another in such a manner as to prevent that person from proceeding beyond certain circumscribing limits.

The Kidnapping Bill outlines a punishment whereby the offender will be liable for conviction and a fine of $10M, along with imprisonment for a period of not less than 15 and not exceeding 20 years.

Persons who are guilty of collecting ransom after kidnapping an individual may be liable to pay a fine equivalent to the sum collected in ransom or a fine of $7M, whichever is higher, together with a jail sentence of not more than 10 years.

The Bill also bestows upon people the burden of delivering to the Police, any information known about the commission or intention of committing any of the above three offences, as failure to do so constitutes an offence.

No witness in a kidnapping case may be discredited based on the fact that he or she would have paid a ransom demanded by the abductor(s) and all accomplices shall be subjected to a $200,000 fine or alternative of not more than one year imprisonment, or in some cases, both punishment may be applicable.

In a kidnapping case, should the accused be found in possession of assets for which he or she cannot account, this may be taken by the Court as supporting evidence of any witness's account that this person received a ransom after wrongfully confining or restraining someone.

The Kidnapping Act 2002 also seeks to protect the right of an informer, hence no witness in such a case is obliged or permitted to disclose the name and address of any informer or state any information, which may lead to the person's discovery, and any document bearing similar information will be concealed from view.