Case No.:

AC-CP-I 7.1956

Court:

Major Court Confirmation

Issue No.:

1961

Principles

·  Criminal Law—Penal Code, s. 307 -Kidnapping a woman with intent to force or seduce to illicit intercourse—If girl kidnapped is under 16, accused’s lack of knowledge of her age is no defence

Accused took a minor female under 16 years of age out of her town with intent to have illicit intercourse with her. Accused claimed he did not know she was under 16.
Held: Lack of knowledge that the girl is under 16. even reasonable belief from her appearance that she was over 16. is no defence to kidnapping; anyone dealing with such a girl does so at his peril.”

Judgment

( MAJOR COURT CONFIRMATION )

SUDAN GOVERNMENT v. OSMAN MOHAMED AHMED

AC-CP-I 7.1956

M. A. Abu Rannat C.J. February 13, 1956 : - I have carefully read this case. The evidence shows that there was no kidnapping from Keiga to Kadugli. At Keiga she told the accused that she had no. with whom she could spend the night and the accused had no alternative but to suggest to her to go to Kadugli. This is clear from the evidence of the policemen who were riding on the front seat of the lorry.

The kidnapping took place from the moment the accused took the girl from the park at Kadugli to the tree outside the town. Technically the accused is gui1ty of kidnapping.

The girl is under 16 years of age. It is no defence that the accused did not know the girl to be under 16 or that from her appearance he might have thought she was of a greater age. Anyone dealing with such a girl does so at his peril, and if she turns out to be under 16 he must take the consequences even though he bona fide believed that she was over 16.

l my view the offence under Penal Code, S. 307, has been proved. The offence under Penal Code, s. 131, is not denied,

Sentence

The kidnapping was for less than an hour. The accused admits that he proposed to the girl and she at least pretended that she was willing. The behaviour of the girl suggested that she was willing to have sexual intercourse. She agreed to go from Keiga to Kadugli ‘and again she agreed to go from the park at Kadugli to the Khala. She did not ask accused when he dismissed his assistant drivers that she wanted to go with them to the park.

All these facts seem to me reasonable mitigating factors for reduction of sentence. I consider in the circumstances six months is adequate.