A prisoner is in a coma in hospital after his cellmate allegedly carved letters into his head and poured boiling water over his face during an argument about religion at a jail on the NSW Mid North Coast, police say.
The injured man, 40, had been sharing a cell with another man, 18, for the first time when the violence broke out at the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre in Kempsey on Thursday afternoon.
Police said the men had been placed in their cell and that section of the prison was locked down about 3.30pm on Thursday, which was standard practice.
"It is alleged an argument has begun over religious beliefs between the two, resulting in the 18-year-old carving letters into the front and rear of the 40-year-old male victim's head, before pouring hot water through a towel placed onto the victim's face," police said in a statement.
The younger man then alerted prison staff, who called paramedics.
The injured man was taken to Port Macquarie Base Hospital with significant wounds to his neck, head and face, and a broken sternum. He was put in an induced coma, police said.
The 18-year-old man is expected to be charged with assault occasioning grievous bodily harm, police said in a statement.
The correctional centre is a minimum to medium security prison for men and women. It is not known why the two men had been imprisoned.
A Corrective Services spokesperson confirmed in a statement that "an inmate is in hospital after allegedly being assaulted at Mid North Coast Correctional Centre yesterday".
"About 4.30pm, an offender called for staff to attend his cell saying he was concerned about the welfare of his cellmate," the statement said.
"Staff immediately provided first aid to the injured man and paramedics were called. He was taken to hospital.
"NSW Police were notified and one man is currently in segregation pending further inquiries."
