Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023
|
Non-fatal strangulation or non-fatal suffocation | ||
|
21. The Act of 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 3: | ||
“3A. (1) A person shall be guilty of an offence who, without lawful excuse, intentionally or recklessly— | ||
(a) strangles or suffocates another, or | ||
(b) causes another to believe on reasonable grounds that he or she is likely immediately to be subjected to suffocation or strangulation. | ||
(2) In a prosecution for an offence under subsection (1), it shall be a defence for the accused to show that the other consented to the strangulation or suffocation of which the offence consists. | ||
(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable— | ||
(a) on summary conviction, to a class A fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or to both, or | ||
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or to both. | ||
(4) A person charged with an offence under subsection (1) may, if the evidence does not warrant a conviction for that offence but warrants a conviction for an offence under section 3, be found guilty of an offence under section 3. | ||
(5) In this section and section 4A (inserted by section 22 of the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023)— | ||
‘strangle’ includes applying, directly or indirectly, force to the neck of another so as to impede breathing or the circulation of blood; | ||
‘suffocate’ includes— | ||
(a) asphyxiating another, and | ||
(b) impeding the breathing of another, including by— | ||
(i) covering the mouth or nose, | ||
(ii) constricting the chest, or | ||
(iii) blocking, by means of a foreign object, the airways, | ||
of the other.”. |