With reference to Dr Mario Felice's letter (The Sunday Times, January 4), I confirm that the Prison Board of Visitors (PBV) insists that a complaint is lodged as a last resort, after seeking to resolve the issue with the prison management. If an inmate has a problem, he or she should seek to resolve it directly with the prison management. If he or she fails, the matter may be brought to the attention of the PBV for its consideration.

The latter will then review the correctness or otherwise of the stand taken by management on the particular matter.

To this I add that this only applies to formal complaints: the PBV also monitors the prison continually and takes up issues on its own initiative, without waiting for a complaint to be lodged as a last resort. We also follow up inmates' requests to speak to a PBV representative.

With regard to the recent 'hunger strike', I would like to clarify that I was kept informed of all developments, including that the strike - which in fact was no more than a temporary refusal of food and not an actual hunger strike - was called off after a few hours. Once the situation was back to normal and the acting director had agreed to meet the inmates to discuss their difficulties, I considered the situation to be under control.

I advised the acting director to listen to the inmates and to be open to requests and suggestions. The acting director carried this out, and kept me informed throughout. Nevertheless, I met with the main participants of the 'strike' and discussed their difficulties with them. Two of the inmates even lodged a written complaint, which the PBV is looking into.