An inmate’s fear of contracting shingles led to an incident in which a correctional officer got punched in the face, a magistrate heard yesterday.
Sylvester James, 29, originally from Marsa, who proudly calls himself by his nickname, Il-Bomba, threatened, spat at a number of prison warders and punched one of them in the face because they would not listen to his complaints about another inmate’s illness.
Correctional officer Alexander Desira, who suffered the punch, told Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit that the incident occurred early on June 12, when Mr James and his father – who has Il-Bomba tattooed on his forehead – began complaining about a prisoner who had shingles.
The father, son and prisoner were in the same division, known as the single room, but the sick inmate was not leaving his cell.
Mr Desira said that when the father and son came out of their cells, there was a small commotion because of their complaints. He said he ordered that Mr James senior, who was shouting and being rowdy, be escorted to another section.
The decision did not go down well with the son, whose complaints got louder when he saw that his father was getting into trouble. It was at this point that Mr James punched Mr Desira in the face.
Mr James junior stands charged with assaulting Mr Desira, slightly injuring him and threatening and insulting 11 correctional officers.
The officers had intervened when things got out of hand. Mr James is also charged with disobeying their orders and trying to prevent them from carrying out their duties.
The accused made an insanity plea and is being kept at the Forensic Unit of Mount Carmel Psychiatric Hospital.
The case continues.
Police Inspector Hubert Cini is prosecuting, while lawyer Noel Bianco is defending Mr James.
The same prisoner made headlines last June when he told Magistrate Aaron Bugeja and a police inspector: “Who the f*** do you think you are?” while testifying in a case against another prisoner, Jason Decelis.
Mr Decelis is facing criminal proceedings for assaulting a prison warder and for accusing him of a crime he knew had not taken place, having alleged that the warder had ordered him to urinate on his cell floor instead of using the toilet.