Prison officer to be blood tested after being bitten by inmate
A correctional officer has been forced to undergo tests have being bitten by a prisoner.
Police & Courts
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A correctional officer has been bitten by a prisoner at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre in North Queensland on Sunday.
The officer will undergo testing for blood borne diseases after the prisoner lunged at them and bit the officer on the hand when unlocking a safety unit.
Five of the worst inmates in Far North’s Lotus Glen Correctional Centre
Queensland jails to start prison visits, but no touching allowed
The prisoner then reopened an injury from a recent self-harm incident, which caused considerable amounts of bleeding.
The injured officer was treated at the scene and will be tested for diseases at hospital.
The prison health centre will treat the prisoner for their wounds.
Additional criminal charges and further prison time may be handed to prisoners when they assault officers.
The incident follows another incident earlier this year at the same facility where a custodial correctional officer received a neck injury as a result of an interaction with a prisoner.
New legislation passed in parliament in July increased the maximum penalty for serious assault on corrective services officers with aggravating circumstances, including biting, spitting and throwing bodily materials.
The offence now carries a maximum penalty of 14 years.