Nedburn Thaffe, Gleaner Writer

It was chaos in the vicinity of the South Camp Road Rehabilitation Centre in Kingston yesterday after persons who turned up to visit their loved ones were denied entry.

It took only a matter of minutes for tension to spill over after a group of incarcerated men at the remand centre of the Gun Court shouted from their cell blocks to visitors scattered along the sidewalk that a number of them had suffered broken bones and bruises after allegedly being beaten by police.

For some of the visitors, the news of what had allegedly taken place proved too overwhelming and they broke down in tears demanding to see their loved ones.

A chorus of "murder" rang out from the Gun Court section of the rehabilitation centre as the hands of several of those incarcerated could be seen stretching from a vent in their cell blocks as they waved handkerchiefs, newspapers and called out for help.

"Them bruk all mi son hand and buss up him head in deh," claimed Ann-Marie Singh, who travelled from Waterhouse, St Andrew, to visit her 24-year-old son.

She said shortly after she had turned up to visit, she was told by a policeman at the gate to "move from deh so and go a mi yard because dem nah tek no visitor".

"Him seh dem a mask up and a beat dem in deh. Dem beat him with stick and bruk him hand," Singh said she was told by her son, who she claimed was among the group of men shouting inside.

DEATH THREATS

Another woman who had turned up to visit her incarcerated 18-year-old son said she was told by one of the policemen that what sparked the commotion, which led to the refusal of entry, was that the prisoners had made death threats on the lives of a number of police personnel on the compound.

"A superintendent seh to me that dem threaten fi kill dem so that's why dem a punish dem. When me ask him about the man dem weh get bruk up, him seh anybody who get bruk up will go a doctor. Me ask him when and him seh him nuh know," the mother lamented.

The Gleaner was yesterday unable to get an official response from the police. However, one policeman at the facility yesterday denied accusations that the men were beaten.

nedburn.thaffe@gleanerjm.com