Obligation of owner, operator or master of conveyance

(1) A person being the owner, operator or master of a conveyance, that engages in the transportation for commercial gain shall ensure that every person travelling on board his conveyance is in possession of a lawful travel document for entry by that person into the receiving country. (2) An owner, operator or master of a conveyance under subsection (1) who knowingly permits, or has reasonable grounds to believe that such conveyance– (a) is being used for the purpose of transporting a person into a receiving country without the travel documents required for the lawful entry of that person into the receiving country; or (b) is being used for the purpose of committing an act of trafficking in persons, commits an offence and is liable on conviction on indictment to the penalty prescribed in sub-section (3). (3) A person who commits an offence under sub-section (2) shall be liable– (a) where that person is an individual, to a fine of one hundred thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term of ten years or to both; 20 (b) where that person is a body corporate, to a fine of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars; and any officer, director or agent of that body corporate who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence may also be liable on conviction on indictment to the penalty prescribed in section 19(2)(b)(i). (4) In proceedings under this section, it may be a defence for an owner, operator or master of a conveyance to prove that– (a) he has reasonable grounds to believe that the travel documents of the person travelling on board are travel documents required for lawful entry of that person into the receiving country; (b) the person travelling on board possessed travel documents required for lawful entry into the receiving country when that person boarded, or last boarded the conveyance to travel to the receiving country; or (c) the entry of the person into the receiving country occurred only because of illness or injury to that person, stress of weather or any other circumstances beyond the control of such owner, operator or master. (5) Where a person is convicted under sub-section (2), that person shall pay, in addition to any penalty imposed pursuant to sub-section (3), the costs of the accommodations, meals and repatriation of the victim of trafficking in persons.