Bill: 25 years jail for gang-leaders

CRIMINALS face up to 25 years jail for simply being a gang leader; ten years jail for being a gang member and/or 20 years for a second conviction, under the Anti-Gang Bill pilotted in the House of Representatives yesterday by Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi.

Notes to the bill said, “The Bill seeks to make it an offence to be a member of a gang, to be in possession of a bullet-proof vest, to participate in, or contribute to, the activities of a gang, to support or invite support for a gang, or to harbour or conceal gang members or recruit persons to a gang.”

The bill imposes a 30 year term for anyone who wounds or shoots at the police.

It is also an offence to retaliate against someone for disobeying a gang leader, and to preventing someone leaving a gang.

The bill needs a special majority in Parliament as it affects constitutional rights.