Prisons Commissioner Mr. Edward Dyer expects to receive word tomorrow on a probe into alleged physical abuse and negligence at the Co-ed Facility.

The investigation, by the Treatment of Offenders Board, began more than a month ago after two Jamaicans living here told The Royal Gazette two Jamaican sisters were physically and verbally abused by prison officers.

The sisters -- Marlene St. John, 22, and Theresa St. John, 18, were on remand for importing $140,000 worth of cocaine.

They have since been sentenced to seven and five years in prison, respectively -- with the recommendation that they be given whatever counselling they need.

Last month, Mrs. Sonia Lee Johnson and Mrs. Hazel Christopher said they feared that the sisters, who have attempted suicide, could end up dead.

They spoke of reports of a male prison officer pinning Theresa against a wall with an iron bed days after she suffered a miscarriage.

Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher, who are known to be "credible'' people, also claimed that a week later a female officer is alleged to have stepped on Theresa's stomach in the presence of other officers.

Both women also 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 confirmed her story.

And Theresa was admitted to St. Brendan's Hospital 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.

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'', she wrote in a letter dated October 6 to Mr. Dyer.

However, both Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Christopher made it clear that they were not blaming Mr. Dyer nor all prison officers.

`Abuse' report tomorrow "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.'' And Health and Social Services Minister the Hon. Quinton Edness agreed, saying the allegations were not typical of staff there.

He asked the Treatment of Offenders Board and Mr. Dyer to investigate the allegations.

If the allegations were found to be true, he added, prison officers would be disciplined "depending on the nature of the abuse''.

Yesterday, Mr. Dyer said the board was scheduled to meet tomorrow and he might receive some feedback then.

But he quickly added that he would not be able to speak publicly on the board's findings which will be forwarded in a report to Mr. Edness.

Responding to claims of low morale in the prison service, Mr. Dyer said: "These concerns have been surfacing over the last year or so''.

But, he said, it was normal during a time of transition and he expected that there would be some concerns even after the move to the new prison.

Hours of work, shifts, and a number of other complaints relating to the move were among the prison officers' concerns, Mr. Dyer said.