While many persons in the Corporate Area were locked indoors last week during Tropical Storm Gustav, one man had to leave home and brave the weather after he broke his penis.

According to bizarre reports reaching THE STAR, the man had to immediately seek medical attention at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) after he fractured his penis while having sex.

After much research, we were able to make contact with the man yesterday. He, however, declined to give an interview after his demands for payment to share his story were not met.

"Right now unnu affi go gi mi some compensation fi my story," he said while stating that he wanted a percentage of THE STAR's sales for today. "So, if unnu naw gimmi a thing then just call it a day, mi naw go talk bout it."

We were able to get information from him, however, that he had been at the KPH. An earlier conversation with one of his friends also confirmed that he did break his member.

Several checks at the KPH yesterday turned up varying responses. One porter said he heard about a patient turning up with a broken penis, but he couldn'y say if it was true as he was not at work at the time.

A female security officer, chuckling through her response, said that she was at work when the patient showed up but was stationed elsewhere. "Is last week inna de storm him come, but mi neva up weh dem teck him in," she said. "Is when mi go up there mi hear dat a man come in wid a bruk penis."

She then jokingly warned the reporter to be careful in order not to share the same misfortune. Others at the facility said they had never heard about the case and questioned if it was possible for a man to break his penis.

However Dr Alverston Bailey, past president of the Medical Association of Jamaica, said that while he has not heard about this specific case, it was quite possible for the penis to be fractured. "It's called a penile fracture; it's not an uncommon event," he said. "What happens is that you tear the structure that maintains the integrity of the penis."

Dr Bailey continued that when this happens there is a loud popping sound from the penis, followed by excruciating pain and significant swelling, causing the penis to appear deformed. He noted that in some cases, *lo** might be seen coming from the organ.