Public Assistance Act, 1939

Penalty for assisting escaping child.

82.—If any person—

(a) knowingly assists or induces, directly or indirectly, a child under the age of sixteen years who is maintained by a public assistance authority to leave, without the consent of such authority, the place where it is so maintained, or

(b) harbours or conceals a child under the age of sixteen years who is maintained by a public assistance authority and has, to the knowledge of such person, left without the consent of such authority the place where it is so maintained, or

(c) knowingly assists or induces, directly or indirectly, a child in respect of whom the rights and powers of its parents or one of its parents are vested in a public assistance authority to leave, without the consent of such authority, a place in which it had been placed by such authority, or

(d) harbours or conceals a child in respect of whom the rights and powers of its parents or one of its parents are vested in a public assistance authority and who has, to the knowledge of such person, left without the consent of such authority a place in which it had been placed by such authority,

such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months.