Union Parliament has approved the second amendment version of the Penal Code of Myanmar with a provision that can give a 20-year jail sentence or life sentence to the rapist of a girl under 12.

The bill amending the Penal Code for the second time was submitted by MP Aung Thein for Bago Region Constituency No (12) during a parliamentary session of Lower House on August 10, 2018.

Parliamentary approval was done through voting.

The bill was first went from Lower House to Upper House and then approved by Union Parliament.

"Death penalty is not imposed in the second amendment of the law because we need medical examination if a child under 12 was raped. If we impose death penalty, there may be consequential crimes such as murder, burning and slashes after a rape. Then a rapist might say he did it because anger. The punishment for murder is seven years and above," said a member of parliament.

Despite public demand for death sentence for rape, the proposal, when submitted, only called for 1 20-year jail sentence or life sentence for raping a disabled woman or a girl under 12.  

MP Aung Thein said the purpose of tabling the motion was to increase the punishment as the increasing rate of child rape poses a threat to entire society, adding that the punishment for rape in the Penal Code enacted over 150 years ago was based on lifestyle and living conditions at that time.

The bill approved by Union Parliament will be sent to the President so he can signed it into law.