Escapee lockups weren’t part of $160M project

The alleyway behind the court through which the four escape prisoners fled. To the left is a guard hut.

Work on the lockups was not part of the multi-million dollar rehabilitation project at the Georgetown Magis-trate’s Court Complex, according to Registrar of the Supreme Court, Rashid Mohamed, who says that following Monday’s breakout work was done before the end of the day not only to seal the breach but to make it impenetrable.

Mohamed during a recent interview with Stabroek News said that the escape of four prisoners who managed to penetrate horizontal steel bars and a layer of diamond mesh before scaling a six-foot chain-link fence surmounted by barbed wire came as a shock to him. He said that while the security of prisoners is not the responsibility of the court administration, the issue will be given attention as the protection of the court staff is very important.

He said that the court administration footed the bill to repair and reinforce the damaged ventilation window and would soon be examining its budget with a view to sourcing money to replace the barbed wire at the top of the back fence with razor wire. Security sources had pointed out that razor wire was a better option owing to its