State liable for vicious jail attack

The prison authorities failed to adequately protect a convict whose face was slashed by an inmate and have been found liable for damages arising from his injuries.

*Malcolm, who was incarcerated at the St Albans Maximum Correctional Centre for rape and sexual assault involving a minor, told the Port Elizabeth High Court last week that inmates convicted of sexual offences, particularly those involving children, were often subjected to assaults or threats by fellow prisoners.

He testified that he had gone to collect food from the prison dining hall on April 10 2012 and on the way back to his cell noticed there was no warder at the gate.

As he made his way back to his cell the passage became crowded.

He then felt a blow to the side of his face and inmates stepped back in shock as he bled profusely from a 17cm-long gash inflicted with a blade from the left temporal region to the jawline on the left side of his face.

He argued that Correctional Services officials were negligent because they had failed to prevent the assailant arming himself with the blade and had failed to ensure his safety.

The Department of Correctional Services argued that the attack could not have been foreseen or avoided.

"I am satisfied that the plaintiff has succeeded in establishing that the defendant is liable to him in damages for the harm suffered by him in consequence of the defendant's breach of its duty of care owed to him," Judge Glen Goosen said in his judgment on Friday.

The amount to be paid in damages is yet to be determined.

* The Times has not identified the inmate to ensure that his victim cannot be identified.