and negligence at the Co-ed Facility.

And Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness yesterday said he wanted a report "expeditiously''.

Mr. Edness was responding to allegations that one of two Jamaican sisters on remand for importing cocaine had been physically and verbally abused by female and male prison officers.

As a result, two Jamaicans living here told The Royal Gazette on Tuesday the teenager had tried to commit suicide several times.

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

Yesterday Mr. Edness said he had asked the Treatment of Offenders Board and Prisons Commissioner Mr. Edward Dyer to "again investigate this matter''.

Suicide attempts by 18-year-old Theresa A. St. John and her 21-year-old sister Marlene had been brought to his attention before, he added.

"The Commissioner has informed me, from time to time, he has had a very difficult time with these two who are emotionally disturbed,'' Mr. Edness said.

"He even requested that one be removed for psychiatric treatment.'' Theresa, who turned 18 on Monday, is on the high-security Adams Ward of St.

Brendan's Hospital.

She was admitted after it was claimed that she drank bleach and was found unconscious on a shower floor of the Co-ed Facility in St. George's.

Both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher, who believe the girl would have died there had it not been for an inmate who found her, claimed Theresa was not properly supervised.

They also charged that she had been denied medical attention for days on more than one occasion, and her cell door had been left open "almost all night''.

The women, who did not know the St. John sisters until the alleged abuse was brought to their attention by visitors to the prison, stressed that they did not condone the sisters' involvement with drugs.

But, they said, the women deserved "to be treated like human beings''.

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 stressed that they were not blaming Mr. Dyer nor all prison officers.

And Mr. Edness said he knew Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher to be "credible'' people.

But he said: "I would be very disturbed if I found that a prisoner, particularly one that is emotionally disturbed, was being mistreated. That is not typical of the staff there.

"These are two difficult prisoners. They are terribly emotionally disturbed.

When they came here they were terribly scarred and prison officers have been taking extra precautions to deal with them.'' Mr. Edness also stressed that prison officers were trained to deal with such prisoners, and experts including psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers were on hand.

He said if the allegations of abuse or negligence were found to be true, prison officers would be disciplined "depending on the nature of the abuse''.

But Mr. Edness quickly added: "It's better not to prejudge at this time and see what an investigation brings forward.'' Mr. Dyer, who visited the Co-ed Facility yesterday morning, said the investigation was already underway.

He said: "We're really looking at putting something in place that will be less traumatic for these inmates.

"I don't want to see this get any worse.''