1. Concept and legal basis
| Article 270. Kidnapping and failure to return a minor. – The penalty of reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon any person who, being entrusted with the custody of a minor person, shall deliberately fail to restore the latter to his parents or guardians. (Act 3815, Revised Penal Code) |
2. Elements of the offense
Elements of the offense:
1) The offender is entrusted with the custody of a minor person; and,
2) He deliberately fails to restore the latter to his parents or guardians.
ELEMENTS:
1) The offender is entrusted with the custody of a minor person; and,
2) The offender deliberately fails to restore the said minor to his parents or guardians. (People v. Marquez, G.R. No. 181440, 13 April 2011)
DELIBERATE FAILURE, PUNISHED: while one of the essential elements of this crime is that the offender was entrusted with the custody of the minor, what is actually being punished is not the kidnapping but the deliberate failure of that person to restore the minor to his parents or guardians. (Ibid.)
REMINDERS:
1) If the offender was not entrusted with the custody of the minor, the crime is kidnapping and serious illegal detention.
References
⦁ Title 9 – Crimes Against Personal Liberty, Book 2, Revised Penal Code
/Updated: January 18, 2023
