Correctional Facility on Sunday, Prisons Commissioner Edward Dyer confirmed yesterday.

"There was a little fracas in the visiting area'' between "a prisoner and a visitor,'' Mr. Dyer told The Royal Gazette . "The staff separated it and we're currently seeking more information.'' Mr. Dyer said the visitor was slightly injured in the altercation, which happened at about noon on Sunday.

He would neither confirm nor deny a report from a witness, who asked to remain anonymous, that the prisoner who threw a punch at the visitor was convicted murderer Troy Shorter.

"He's entitled to visitors,'' Mr. Dyer said of Mr. Shorter. But when asked if the man who was attacked was visiting Mr. Shorter, Mr. Dyer said: "That's the bit we're still resolving.'' The visiting room was large enough to accommodate more than one visit at a time, he said.

The anonymous witness said the visitor was visiting someone else when he was attacked by Mr. Shorter. And she questioned why Mr. Shorter -- who is serving a life sentence for the 1986 murder of Hayward's Supermarket owner Mr. Roger Redman -- would be allowed in the area.

Police were not involved and the incident was being investigated internally, Mr. Dyer said.

There are two types of visits at Westgate, Mr. Dyer said. There are `closed' visits, in which the prisoner is separated from the visitor by a screen, and `open' visits, in which they are not separated. Sunday's incident occurred during an open visit.