LONDON

London prison warned after former police officer takes his own life in cell

Rickie Poon, 38, took his own life in HMP Pentonville while awaiting trial for alleged sexual offences

By Evening Standard

• April 28, 2026 at 4:00 PM

London prison warned after former police officer takes his own life in cell Photo: Evening Standard

A north London prison has been slammed by a coroner after a former police officer took his own life in his cell.

Rickie Poon, 38, was dismissed from the Metropolitan Police in 2024 after he was arrested and released on bail as he awaited trial for alleged sexual offences.

He made a serious attempt on his life on January 19, 2025, and was remanded in custody at HMP Pentonville on February 13 2025.

Despite being placed on suicide watch, he took his own life exactly a month later.

A coroner’s inquest concluded on March 26 that serious failings had contributed to his death, namely in the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process used to support inmates at risk of self-harm or suicide .

A jury found there was a “lack of accountability” among officers, and criticised the “inadequate” ACCT record-keeping and “inconsistent” reviews while he was under observation.

In a Prevention of Future Deaths report published on April 10, Senior Coroner Mary Hassell warned the prison governors there was a risk future deaths could occur unless they took action.

Ms Hassell was critical in particular of a nurse employed by healthcare provider Practice Plus Group (PPG), who was on duty at the time and had arrived at the cell after staff sounded the emergency alarm.

Upon finding prison officers trying to revive Mr Poon, she correctly grasped that he was already dead but in spite of this she took over from them and continued giving him chest compressions anyway.

The coroner found this “unprofessional, inappropriate, undignified, and unkind”, adding that she was concerned that a poor CPR attempt in the future could also lead to future deaths.

Ms Hassell reminded the prison and PPG of several past warnings she had given the provider (formerly Care UK) and the institution regarding resuscitation attempts on deceased inmates, though her most recent report was six years ago.

HMP Pentonville has a duty to respond to the report by June 1, 2026.

This is the fourth Prevention of Future Deaths report sent to Pentonville governors this year, and follows the suicide of prisoner Mujahid Adam in 2025.

The Ministry of Justice was approached for comment but did not respond in time for publication.