Following an initial assessment of the allegation a guard ‘body-slammed’ an Aboriginal inmate, the Western Australian Department of Justice said “no evidence” has found any altercation took place.
On Monday morning, emerged of a female Aboriginal inmate allegedly being ‘body-slammed’ by a guard at Bandyup Women’s Prison in Perth.
By the afternoon, the WA Corrective Service Commissioner Tony Hassel denied the woman was in hospital due to the alleged altercation.
"While the investigation is ongoing, a preliminary assessment has found no evidence of any unreasonable force or an alleged ‘body slam’ incident as reported in the media,” a spokesperson for the Department of Justice said in a statement.
“The prisoner had been found trying to access a vending machine and was ushered back to her cell.”
The Department of Justice claims the woman has a pre-existing medical condition which resulted in her hospitalisation but stated an investigation will continue.
The Yamatji woman, in her 30s, was transferred down to Perth from Greenough Regional Prison near Geraldton, 420 kilometres north of Perth.
NITV News has spoken with family members of Bandyup inmates who stand by reports that an incident occurred between the woman and a prison guard.
The Yamatji woman remains in a critical condition at St John of God Hospital in Midland.
