A 20-year-old man, who is accused of pretending to be the operator of an overseas job agency, was reportedly beaten while in custody at a Corporate Area lock-up.
It was shared in the Kingston and St Andrew Parish Court on Monday that the defendant, Jamaal Black, was hospitalised for injuries he received in a recent melee.
One custody officer with knowledge of the incident said, "Him look like him near to death."
Black is charged on an indictment for 36 counts of obtaining money by means of false pretence and five counts of operating an overseas employment agency without licence.
It was shared that Black purported to have an overseas travel agency and that he could provide employment opportunities for interested Jamaicans, and requested a minimum of $150,000 to process visa applications and work permits. Applicants had to visit an office from which Black operated in the Corporate Area to make payments by cash or bank transfer.
"He doesn't look good," Black's attorney-at-law, Atiba Dyer, informed Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montaque.
The matter was set for mention on September 25.
