Email this page

Government Laws

The Penal Code

Prohibits the buying or selling of any person.

The penal code includes extensive provisions that prohibit buying or selling any person, using deceitful means to bring anyone into or out of the country, and wrongfully restraining (defined to include using threats, withholding clothing, or holding a person's passport) any person with the intention to use that person for prostitution. Punishment for these offenses includes a maximum 15-year prison term, caning, and a fine, to be determined at the discretion of the sentencing judge. The penal code criminalizes most of the acts involved in severe forms of trafficking and those laws carry penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment.