Cruelty to children including abandonment

(1) Every person, being eighteen years or over and by virtue of law or any agreement or employment has the custody, charge to maintain, or care of a person under the age of eighteen years and who willfully assaults, illtreats, neglects, abandons or exposes that person in a manner likely to cause that person unnecessary suffering, grievous harm or injury to health, commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term of ten years. (2) Every person who, being eighteen years or over and having abducted a person under eighteen years in furtherance of an offence under sub-section (1) commits an offence and is liable on indictment to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years. (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2), where a person who, being eighteen years or over, commits an offence under sub-section (1) or (2) and that offence is in relation to a person who is below twelve years, he is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for a term not less than fifteen years but may extend to imprisonment for life. (4) For the purposes of this section“custody” means having responsibility for; “willfully” means deliberately and not accidentally or inadvertently; and “abandon” means to leave a child to its own fate.