Two Guyanese men were among a group awaiting deportation who were said to have been given a sound thrashing by St Maarten police for disorderly behaviour while protesting the quality of the food they received at a jail house.

Nigel Reid of New Amsterdam and Chandra Khan returned to Guyana on Saturday evening bruised and battered.

For Khan who had departed Guyana illegally, his agony is far from over as he was thrown back into the lock-ups here upon returning from the Caribbean island which is divided into French and Dutch zones.

He was taken to the Georgetown Hospital for treatment for wounds on his head and about his body before police took him back to the Brickdam Police Station lock-ups. Up to press time he was still there and reports are that he would face charges of illegal departure sometime this week. Meanwhile, his colleague Reid said he had entered the country legally but overstayed his time. He was arrested on June 17 by the Dutch-administered St Maarten police and was awaiting deportation at a jail house. Reid, with his back scored with lash marks, said he and several other foreigners were being housed at the prison which was lacking some of the basic facilities.

Admitting that he did overspend his time, Reid told Stabroek News yesterday that he left for St Maarten in February. Prior to that, he had travelled to the island on several occasions.

Reid related that he was picked up on June 17. He said last week Wednesday while at the jail house there was a group of men from other countries waiting to be deported like him. He said the men complained about the quality of food they had been receiving at the prison but days passed and there was no change.

Last Wednesday the men, fed-up of the poorly cooked food, began protesting. He said they chanted and threw food boxes through the window of their cells and from other places in the prison compound.

Their actions incensed the police who quickly rushed into the cells and clubbed them with belts, gun butts and other things.

Reid said he could not speak for Khan but he was not involved in the box throwing. He said Khan received lashes across his head, back and hands while he took his on his belly and back.

He said the authorities took off their clothes while beating them after which the cells were soaked with water.

Reid, 36, and a father of four said his fellow inmates had lodged complaints with rights groups in St Maarten and also made reports to the media. He is expected to make a formal complaint at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will from there decide what next to do.

"These things we Guyanese gat to go through wherever we go I did not commit any crime I only overstay my time," a distraught Reid told Stabroek News.