Hours after the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service named Deopersad Ramoutar the new Acting Commissioner of Prisons, it retracted the statement altogether, describing him only as “the most senior officer in the service.”

Ramoutar had been named as Acting Prison Commissioner, on the same day Dennis Pulchan, the former Commissioner, proceeded on Pre-Retirement Leave.

“The Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service acknowledges Mr. Ramoutar as being the most senior officer at this time and iterates that he was not appointed to the position,” a follow up statement clarified.

According to the original statement, which has since been removed from the social media pages of the Trinidad and Tobago Prison Service: “Mr. Ramoutar brings to the position, over thirty-three (33) years of knowledge and committed service, geared towards the mandates of the Prison Service, having served assiduously in all departments with significant input in the Welfare Department. He is a trained certified mediator and a conflict management expert.”