The acquisition of sexual services directly or through intermediaries will be punished with a fine of 2 000 to 6 000 lei or up to 60 hours of community service. This is prescribed in a legislative initiative with amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses that was put forward by Liberal MPs Valeriu Munteanu, Ana Gutu and Corina Fusu, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to a communiqué from the Liberal Party, both the prostitutes and their clients should be penalized as the sexual services are provides as a result of an amicable agreement between the two. “Given that this transaction is often managed by intermediaries, usually procurers, the legal norm proposed for adoption stipulates the inevitability of avoiding penalty even when tangible things are passed on by intermediation,” says the communiqué. The authors consider that the given legislative initiative will lead to a decrease in the number of sex tourists coming to Moldova. “The bill aims to punish the persons who give money or other tangible things for the purpose of purchasing sexual services. These amendments are opportune given the size of the phenomenon of prostitution, the need to protect the moral values of society and the care for public health,” it is said in the informative note to the bill. The Liberal lawmakers say Sweden, Norway, Iceland and other European counties impose penalties on the clients of prostitutes and the number of cases of prostitution in these countries halved. The bill was registered at the Parliament’s Bureau and is to be discussed by the parliamentary commissions.