investigation immediately into reports of physical abuse and negligence at the Co-ed Facility.

The Royal Gazette yesterday learned that one of two Jamaican sisters who are on remand for importing cocaine has tried to commit suicide several times.

Two residents, who have visited them on numerous occasions, said they believed this was a direct result of the teenager allegedly being subjected to physical and verbal abuse by some prison officers.

And concerned Jamaicans, Mrs. Sonia Lee Johnson and Mrs. Hazel Christopher, warned if nothing was done about the situation soon, the girls could end up dead.

They have also put officials at the Jamaican Consulate on notice and have contacted the girls' mother who has threatened to take action against the prison officers.

Both women said they had never met 18-year-old Theresa A. St. John and her 21-year-old sister Marlene until June when they were alerted to the case by visitors to the prison.

Theresa, who celebrated her birthday in St. Brendan's Hospital yesterday, suffered a miscarriage shortly after she was involved in a scuffle at the Co-ed Facility on Mother's Day.

Mrs. Johnson claimed three days after Theresa returned to prison from King Edward VII Memorial Hospital a male prison officer pinned her against a wall with an iron bed.

"He has since been transferred,'' she added.

"But a week after that a female officer is alleged to have stepped on her stomach in the presence of other officers.'' Although one officer is reported to have told the female officer to stop, Mrs.

Johnson said when the matter was reported "they all became conveniently blind. So it's been a systematic cover up''.

Both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher said they were denied visits to Theresa after she claimed that she was beaten by three female officers.

But, they said, the bruises on her body days later and the headaches she is still suffering, confirm her story.

On the morning of September 23, Theresa was found laying unconscious on the shower floor of the St. George's prison. It was, said the women, her third suicide attempt in four months.

And had it not been for an inmate and Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher's visit, they said, the "severely-depressed'' teenager would be dead.

Theresa had swallowed bleach and tried to hang herself, it was claimed.

This, Mrs. Johnson stressed, happened despite an order by Mr. Dyer that she should be closely monitored and checked on every 15 minutes.

"Clearly, this shows gross acts of negligence on the part of some officers,'' Mrs. Johnson wrote in a letter dated October 6 to Mr. Dyer.

Explaining Theresa's troublesome background, which included being raped twice and becoming pregnant at an early age, Mrs. Johnson said: "These officers should be more sensitive since they know of her history.

"We are not saying she is to get any special treatment. But she should be treated like a human being.

"We are concerned about her safety and well being. We believe that prison officers should let the courts decide her fate, not take matters into their own hands.'' However, both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher made it clear that they were not blaming Mr. Dyer nor all prison officers.

"These girls are still alive because there are some officers who care about them,'' Mrs. Johnson said. "We believe the abuse is not indicative of the entire prison staff. We know there are decent men and women who have bent over backwards to help these girls.'' Mr. Dyer and the sisters' lawyer Mr. Archie Warner could not be reached for comment last night.