Section 26: Idle and disorderly person

26. Idle and disorderly person (1) Every person shall be deemed an idle and disorderly person who— (a) being able to work, is found wandering abroad or placing himself in any public place to beg or gather alms, or causing any child to do so; (b) being a common prostitute, is found wandering in any public place and behaving in a riotous or indecent manner; (c) pretends to deal in witchcraft, or pretends or professes to tell fortunes, or uses or pretends to use any subtle craft or device to deceive or impose on any person; (d) wanders abroad and lodges in any outhouse or shed or in any deserted or unoccupied building, or in any mill, sugar or other works, watchhouse, trash-house, or other buildings, or within any field, pasture or enclosure, not having any visible means of subsistence, and not giving a good account of himself and satisfactory explanation for his presence in any such place; (e) wilfully exposes to view in any public place, or wilfully causes to be exposed to public view in a window or other part of any shop or other building, situated in any public place, any obscene print, picture or other indecent exhibition; (f) wilfully and obscenely exposes his person in any public place; (g) wanders abroad and endeavours by the exposure of wounds and deformities to obtain or gather alms; (h) endeavours to procure charitable contributions of any kind under any false or fraudulent pretence; [Issue 2] C58– 4 Revised Laws of Mauritius (i) subject to the Gaming Regulatory Authority Act, plays or bets in any public place at or with any table or instrument of gaming, at any game or pretended game of chance. (2) No person shall be convicted of being an idle and disorderly person under subsection (1) (a) unless it is proved that he could by his own labour or other lawful means or from any funds provided for the relief of the poor, have been provided with the necessaries of life. (3) Every person who is an idle and disorderly person shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 50,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, and where he is again convicted as an idle and disorderly person within 12 months of a conviction for any offence under this section or section 28, he shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 50,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year. [S. 26 amended by Act 29 of 1990; Act 5 of 1999; s. 8 of Act 36 of 2008 w.e.f. 27. —