A FORMER prisoner has lost his High Court action for damages against the governor of Wheatfield Prison for serious injuries suffered after a bucket of boiling water was thrown over him by another inmate.
Mr Justice Paul Gilligan yesterday rejected claims by Gary Breen (31) that he was set up by the prison authorities in relation to the attack. He also dismissed Breen's claims that the authorities were negligent in failing to prevent the attack.
Mr Breen of Hillview Grove, Ballinteer, Co Dublin, was, at the time of the water incident on January 16th 1999, serving a 12-month sentence for escaping from Garda custody. He suffered injuries to his back and upper body, was hospitalised for a month and had to receive a number of skin grafts.
The inmate who attacked Mr Breen was a cousin of a man whose neck was slashed by Breen on a Dart train in March 1998. Breen received a four-year jail sentence for the attack.
Mr Breen had claimed that, because of the incident on the Dart, he had told the prison authorities he was fearful of being attacked by the other inmate after being threatened by him.
He claimed that on the afternoon of the attack he was told by a prison officer that he was to be transferred to a different landing and was to "watch his back" because he was in for "a big surprise".
Mr Breen said he was watching television when the inmate who had threatened him poured a bucket of boiling water mixed with sugar and bleach over him from behind. He claimed he was also struck with the bucket, fell to the ground and was kicked and punched by the prisoner for two to three minutes until prison officers intervened.
Dismissing the action, Mr Justice Gilligan said Mr Breen's "sinister" claims that he was set up had "no substance". He found that, prior to the incident, Mr Breen had not raised any fears with the authorities about a perceived attack because of the incident on the Dart.
If Mr Breen had concerns about his safety following his transfer he would have remained in his cell and taken the matter up with a senior officer, the judge said.
Mr Breen instead went to a recreation area where he knew he was going to be in contact with the inmate who attacked him.
The judge said there was nothing unusual in another prisoner being given a bucket of hot water from a boiler and there was no medical evidence to support the serious allegation that the water contained bleach and sugar.
The judge expressed sympathy to Mr Breen over his injuries.