At the New Amsterdam (NA) Court yesterday, Magistrate Chandra Sohan sentenced a man to five years imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to escaping from lawful custody.

The court heard that on August 19 Linden Flavious, an inmate of the NA prison who was convicted on a simple larceny charge, escaped from custody while being a patient under guard at the NA Hospital.

Reports are that the prison officer who was guarding him left to go to the washroom when Flavious bolted. He was recaptured on August 25.

He told the magistrate he was sorry for what he did and explained that he escaped because he was afraid of the other prisoner who had stabbed him and caused him to be hospitalized.

He said the other inmate was constantly beating and threatening him and that although he had reported the matter, the officers took no action. He said he thought it best to escape instead of being put back in the same cell with his attacker.