Pakistan People's Party Member of Provincial Assembly Khurram Jehangir Khan Wattoo has moved a bill in the Punjab Assembly proposing amendments in the 1960 Punjab Food Adulteration Ordinance in connection with the terms of imprisonment and fine for food adulterers.
The amendments proposed by the MPA suggest three years' imprisonment and Rs 300,000 fine for the crime which at present entails only one-year imprisonment and a Rs 100,000 fine. In another amendment in the same ordinance, five years' imprisonment and a Rs 500,000 fine has been proposed for the crime of food adulteration for which now imprisonment is of three years and a Rs 300,000 fine only.
While presenting the bill, Khurram Wattoo said that the amendments were of paramount importance because the existing punishments had failed to serve as an effective deterrent and therefore it was necessary to enhance the terms of imprisonment and fine to deter the criminals from indulging in such criminal activities. The existing terms of imprisonment and fine had failed to achieve the purpose of the Ordinance, he added. He said it was matter of public health and added that proliferation of chronic disease among the people in the province were directly linked to the food adulteration and therefore the House should take up this matter in its earliest session to be held on May 14.
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