Anguish of teen led to cell suicide

07 July 2010

A MENTALLY ill teenager from Newham hanged himself from the bars of his prison cell window, an inquest jury decided last week.

Vinith Kannathasan, 18, was the fourth person found hanged in his cell in a three-month period at Chelmsford Prison.

Governor Mark Davis told the inquest things have changed dramatically since the spate of suicides.

The prison now has a team of In-Reach workers who liaise between Registered Mental Health Nurses and wardens.

Had these measures been in place in February 2008, Vinith might still be alive today, the inquest heard. He had a long history of mental illness, as well as drug and alcohol abuse, it was said.

Vinith, who was born in Sri Lanka but moved to East London at an early age and settled in Manor Park, had bipolar disorder - also known as manic depression - and was on medication.

Full story in this week's Recorder