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The government has expressed serious concern about the mistreatment and neglect of elderly individuals in the country.
The Minister of Health revealed that ten elderly men and women have been abandoned at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre.
In response to this troubling situation, the Minister has proposed new legislation to protect the rights and assets of these vulnerable citizens.
The proposed law, known as the “Abandonment of the Elderly and Protection of their Assets Act,” aims to hold accountable those who exploit elderly relatives.
Cabinet spokesperson Lionel Hurst has outlined the main goal of this proposed legislation.
“There is no legal liability that can be imposed upon a child or relative for abandoning his parents or relatives but that does not mean that they should not be called to yield, especially when the relatives use resources that are due to the parents each month for their benefit”, he said
Hurst said other lawful systems will be put in place to impose some liability on the children.
He assures that the law will be carefully and precisely crafted.
“The issue is whether or not we can actually cause liability to move to the child or relative who has some responsibility for the elderly…” he said.
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