ST CATHERINE, Jamaica- Seventeen-year-old, Alecia King, who was doused with flammable liquid and set ablaze on Thursday allegedly by her ex-boyfriend in Linstead, St Catherine, has received her passport to go overseas for treatment.

The teen, who is in critical condition at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), received her passport in less than two hours after applying for it on Friday and now awaits the release of a medical certificate by doctors at UHWI.

OBSERVER ONLINE understands that the medical certificate is crucial to her getting medical attention in good timing in the United States of America. However, the family was allegedly told by medical staff that the certificate would not be ready until Monday.

For the family, not being able to get the certificate is very unfortunate and could work against Alecia’s best chances of getting fast and advanced treatment.

Alecia’s sister, Samantha urged the hospital on Friday, to move their hands faster to get her sibling the best care available to her at this time.

“I told them that it was urgent and they say I cannot get it until Monday morning because 48 hours is a good time to fly her out for the best treatment,” Samantha claimed.

“We got her passport in less than two hours today and we went to UWHI to get the report and I don’t know why they are holding back,” she said during a press conference at the Ashenheim Road head offices of Sanmerna Paper Products Limited.

The Sanmerna Foundation is trying to help the family raise funds to get Alecia overseas.

Samantha thanked the foundation for providing support and to the Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency (PICA) for responding to her sister’s need so quickly.

“I say a big thanks to PICA and the Sanmerna Foundation. I just want everything to work out. My sister is unrecognisable. I was told that 60 per cent of her body is burned and that she could lose both arms. Her skin is completely torn off and they are saying she is going to need plastic surgery. She is heavily sedated right now because of the pain she is going through. Her lungs were damaged, so she has pipes down her throat. She has to be covered because they don’t want her to get any infection. Thank God for Sanmerna who has been trying to seek better help for her,” Samantha said.

“On Thursday about 6:00am, somebody called and asked me if I heard that my little sister got burned from after 3:00am…. Her ex-boyfriend came and throw gas on her and lit her while she was asleep. They rushed her to the Linstead Hospital and Linstead couldn’t facilitate her so they had to move her to the UHWI intensive care unit. My sister is very brilliant. From I know her, she has never been in trouble at school. She is an A and B student. She is a prefect and she is a good student. She is a bookworm. She is always in the books. The last thing she posted before she got burned was that she wanted God to help her to get her Caribbean Secondary Examination Certificate subjects. That was the last thing she posted before she fell asleep,” Samantha said.

The Sanmerna Foundation has been leading the charge to help the teen get medical help overseas.

Director of the Sanmerna Foundation, Robert White, brought up a similar scenario that occurred with Nicola Clarke who was doused with flammable liquid by her boyfriend in Great River, Hanover in August 2021. The boyfriend then set Nicola on fire causing her to sustain life threatening burns. Nicola did not get to go overseas in time for medical treatment and later died.

According to White, he does not want Alecia’s case to turn out like Nicola’s.

In the meantime, White is appealing to jealous boyfriends to control their actions.

“Sanmerna Foundation dealt with a similar situation as this one. I remember when Nicola Clarke in Hanover got doused with gasoline and set ablaze by her boyfriend. The same thing happened with this 17-year-old with a bright future. To the men out there, you don’t have to be so barbaric. Walk away! Walk away from trouble. This could have been your mother or sister. How would you like this to be your family?” he questioned.