RIOT officers were yesterday called to the San Fernando Magistrates’ Court to quell a fight among prisoners in the cell block section.

The Express was told that no one needed medical attention after the fracas, and that the police were called to ensure there was no escalation, as in previous incidents.

Six weeks ago, prisoner Devon Wankin was stabbed in the neck and back after an altercation in the holding bay. Earlier that day, the man who allegedly stabbed Wankin was in a courtroom fight and another prisoner was beaten.

In May, a fight in the holding cell led to a 24-year-old man being stabbed in the chest. Kevin Thomas, who was charged with robbery, was allegedly stabbed with a homemade knife by a kidnapping and robbery suspect.

Also during that month, Crime Suppression Unit and Guard and Emergency Branch officers were called to the court to subdue prisoners who refused to be taken back to prison.

Electrical fixtures and wires were torn down and used as weapons to ward off riot officers. Some prisoners smeared faeces on themselves and the walls of the holding bay.

Yesterday’s fight was triggered when one prisoner accused another of being involved in a relative’s murder.