MEDICAL OFFICER of health at the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre, Dr. Raymoth Notice, has charged that a concerted effort was being made to sabotage the work of the Commissioner of Corrections.
Testifying on Thursday before a Commission of Inquiry into last month's beating of more than 300 prisoners, Dr. Notice said the batterings were likely triggered by soldiers unhappy with the deplorable conditions inside the St. Catherine Adult Correctional Centre and warders who were upset that their colleagues had been interdicted thus increasing their workload.
He put forward this view when he was asked by Justice Lloyd Ellis what he thought prompted the beatings. "I will sum it up as an act of sabotage," he told the judge.
Justice Ellis is the sole commissioner for the Inquiry set up to probe last month's disturbance at the prison. It is also seeking to uncover how illegal substances and equipment enter the facility.
Dr. Notice, who also blamed the disturbance on the staff shortage being experienced since January when hundreds of warders were interdicted, was asked by attorney-at-law, Dahlia Allen, which group stood to benefit from the interdiction. His response was "those persons within the system for whom an unorganised and mismanaged institution made it easier for them to trade in contraband".
According to the doctor, who stood at the witness stand for nearly five hours over two days, the use of cellular phones was linked heavily to the drug trade in the prison. He said one warder caught giving ganja to inmates to sell was dismissed.
Dr. Notice pointed to a lax in security and an increase in the drug trade since the soldiers went into the prison in January. He said security was compromised because of the staff shortage to the point where a hostage-taking incident was a real possibility. He expressed concern that soldiers with their enticing high powered automatic weapons "could be overwhelmed" by inmates who far outnumber them.
Dr. Notice said there was fear all around - inmates fear fellow inmates, warders and soldiers and vice versa. "Doctors fear everybody," he said.
He told the Commission some warders and inmates collaborate in res-pect of maintaining the status quo of drug and contraband trade. But he said he was not aware of warders being involved in a sex trade.
Meantime, the doctor was full of praise for embattled Commissioner of Corrections, Lieutenant Colonel John Prescod, who he charged was being sabotaged. This sabotage, he said, was by way of unions "giving bad advice" to warders. "I have found in this short, strong man, a stout heart," Dr. Notice said. He added that "in my honest opinion he has been trying".
According to the doctor, the sabotage goes back as far as 1997 when a number of inmates accused of being homosexuals were killed. He said that with the political will, and the right backing, Lt. Col Prescod "would be one of the best commissioners we have seen".
The Inquiry will continue on Monday when it is expected that senior prison officers will continue giving evidence.
