Such crimes carry a sentence of three months to a year. The penal code distinguishes between minor and serious injuries, with the seriousness determining the length of the sentence.
Serious abuse can result in a prison sentence of from one to eight years.
Beatings which end unintentionally in death carry a four to twelve year prison sentence. Crimes of physical abuse are not tried by juries. They are decided by judges pursuant to police reports and the investigations of the prosecution, defense and judge. As with homicide, penalties are reduced in corporal-lesion cases when the crime is committed unintentionally or immediately after an unjust provocation of the victim. Prison sentences can be replaced by fines when the nature of the offense is not serious.