State to pay prisoner $240,000 for beating

A High Court judge has ordered the State to compensate a murder accused on remand at the Maximum Security Prison in Arouca for a beating he received by prison guards in 2014.

Justice Carol Gobin made the order in a lawsuit filed by Devon Sookoo against the Attorney General after the State failed to put in a defence or file submissions in the case.

Sookoo is set to receive a total of $240,000, and interest for the injuries he received to his face and body on July 8, 2014. After the beating he also began bleeding through his penis and left ear and has lost some hearing in that ear, which still oozes liquid.

His lawsuit, filed by attorneys Gerald Ramdeen and Darryl Heeralal, said he was beaten by masked prison guards during a search of cells in the H Division.

Sookoo said he was beaten because he commented when he saw guards beating two other prisoners.

According to his lawsuit, Sookoo said his cell was searched and nothing was found. He was packing his belongings, which were ransacked during the search, when he heard a commotion. Sookoo said he shouted, “That is advantage,” when he saw the other inmates being beaten, and was dragged out of his cell, choked and slammed into a post by guards. He said he lost consciousness and when he awoke, he was on the ground being kicked by the guards.

Sookoo was first treated at the prison infirmary and two days later taken to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex in Mt Hope. Thirteen days later he had to be taken to the Port of Spain General Hospital.

His lawsuit contained several colour photographs of his injuries.