Kyrgyzstan’s Committee on Constitutional Legislation, State Structure, Judicial and Legal Issues, and the Rules of the Jogorku Kenesh has approved a bill to toughen the punishment of persons who evade the maintenance of their elderly parents in the first reading, Turanews.kz reports citing Kabar agency.
The bill was initiated by Deputy Tazabek Ikramov, who said that it was developed to tighten punishment and limit the work in the public service of able-bodied adults who evade supporting their disabled parents and in need of financial assistance.
Under the current law, only insufficient attention to children is punishable, and a court decision is required to bring to justice those who abandon their parents.
The new bill proposes to fine children who evade parental support (non-payment of alimony) 50-100 thousand soms ($563-$1127 USD) or imprison them for 1-2 years.
During the discussion, Deputy Prosecutor General Umutkan Konkubaeva noted that some dispositions need to be changed, adding that there are no registered cases involving persons who left elderly parents without care. Deputy Gulya Kozhokulova noted that if there are no cases, this does not mean that older people are not left without child care.
The bill is still in the early stages of the legislative process and will need to be approved by the full Jogorku Kenesh before it becomes law.
