Antigua cricket official's folly could earn him jail time in St Maarten
by Norman 'Gus' Thomas
Caribbean Net News Senior Correspondent
E-mail: rc@caribbeannetnews.com
Monday, September 19, 2005
PHILLIPSBURG, St. Maarten:
Forty-four-year-old Leon Rodney, an executive member of the Antigua Cricket
Association (ACA), could be spending more time in the custody of the St.
Maarten police, having been taken into custody on Sunday last, following an
incident at the Princess Juliana International Airport.
Immigration officials here told Caribbean Net News that Rodney was in
St. Maarten with an Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Team participating in the
Leeward Island Cricket Tournament (LICT). St.
Maarten officials employed at the Leeward Islands Air Transport (LIAT) told
Caribbean Net News that on Sunday evening, Rodney was among several
passengers that boarded flight 541 bound for Antigua, his homeland, and while
on board he was asked by the stewardess to secure his carry-on bag who
proceeded to assist him in placing it in the overhead compartment.
Rodney reportedly then told the stewardess to handle his bag with care as
there was a bomb inside. The stewardess asked
him to repeat himself, which he did, following which she notified the pilot of
Rodney's remark, at which time he is said to have notified airport officials
and returned to the gate. Police said news of
what Rodney said brought emergency officials, along with members of the
bomb-squad with sniffer dogs, racing to the aircraft, where all passengers
were deplaned and the aircraft thoroughly searched. However, no bomb or
anything resembling a bomb was found.
Meanwhile, Court officials in St. Maarten told Caribbean Net News that,
if the prosecutor's office does not succeed in bringing the case to trial by
Friday, Rodney could spend another 12 days in police custody before the case
is brought to trial. The Antiguan cricketer
could be charged with public mischief, creating a false alarm, disrupting air
traffic, making threatening statements and, under Dutch law, these are crimes
which carry "serious" jail time if convicted.
This sort of behaviour will not be tolerated
in the Netherlands Antilles especially at this time when terrorism is a
serious problem for airlines around the world, a prosecution source is
reported to have said. Many see this statement as an indication of Rodney
spending some time in prison for his folly.
Meanwhile, Rodney's relatives and
sympathizers in the cricket-loving nation of Antigua and Barbuda are saddened
by the unfortunate turn of events and are very concerned over his welfare.
Caribbean Net News understands that
the ACA have been in touch with their counterparts in St. Maarten in a bid to
seek clarification and offer support.
The ACA had initially sought to distance
itself from Rodney's dilemma saying that he was in St. Maarten on his own,
however a correction was made, with the cricketing body later admitting that
Rodney was indeed part of the Antigua and Barbuda team, which participated in
the just concluded Leeward Islands Cricket Tournament.
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