MPs today voted unanimously to send a bill calling for harsher punishments for child sex offenders to committee for further review.

The legislation proposed by Kulhudhufushi South MP Mohamed Nasheed would suspend the right to silence, extend detention periods during investigation and relax admissibility and standards of evidence.

Further, it would introduce longer jail terms, ranging between 14 to 25 years, without the possibility of bail, parole or early release, and parents or legal guardians will get harsher penalties.

Presenting the bill, Nasheed said a common complaint about enforcing laws was lack of funds, facilities and expertise.”I have drawn up a timetable to fully implement everything in the bill within three years,” he said.

He said he will submit his “action plan” to the committee to place obligations on the government to implement the law.Nasheed further proposed the bill should be named after Mohamed Nafiu, an eight-month-old baby boy who died last month after being beaten and sexually abused by his mother and her boyfriend.

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