Section 41: Aggravating circumstances

41. Aggravating circumstances (1) For the purposes of this section, aggravating circumstances shall be deemed to exist whenever— (a) the offender belongs to a criminal organisation or ring; (b) he participated in other unlawful activities facilitated by commission of the offence; (c) he used violence or a weapon in its commission; (d) he held public office and committed the offence in the purported exercise of that office; (e) he was a medical practitioner, nurse, dental surgeon, veterinary surgeon or a person responsible for combating the abuse of or traffic in dangerous drugs; (f) another person under the age of 18 years was concerned in the offence; (g) the drug was offered or delivered to a person under the age of 18 years or to a mentally handicapped person, or a person undergoing treatment involving withdrawal from drug abuse; (h) the drugs delivered caused death or serious injury to health of some person; (i) the offence was committed in a penal institution, a police establishment, a school, university or teaching institution, a hospital or clinic, a place of resort used by school children or students for social or recreational purposes or in the immediate vicinity of any such institution, establishment or place; (j) the offender mixed with the drugs additional substances which aggravated their dangers to health; (k) the offender was previously convicted, either in Mauritius or elsewhere, of an offence connected with dangerous drugs. (2) Any person who is convicted of an offence under section 29 (2), 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38 or 39 shall, if aggravating circumstances exist, be liable to double the penalties specified in respect of that offence. D2 – 23 [Issue 2] Dangerous Drugs Act (3) Notwithstanding subsection (2), any person convicted of an offence under section 29 (2) or 30 shall be sentenced to a fine not exceeding 2 million rupees together with penal servitude for a term not exceeding 60 years, where it is averred and proved that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, the person was a drug trafficker. (4) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (3), a person shall be deemed to be a drug trafficker where the street value of the drugs, the subject matter of the offence, exceeds one million rupees or such other value as may be prescribed. [S. 41 amended by s. 4 (2) (a) of Act 6 of 2007 w.e.f. 18 June 2007; s. 12 of Act 30 of 2008 w.e.f. 20 February 2009; s. 6 of Act 36 of 2008 w.e.f. 6 December 2008.]