The timely arrest of a suspect in the recent bomb scare involving a JetBlue plane (see Friday paper) is most welcome. In the last few years there have been several similar threats in St. Maarten that caused much fear, inconvenience and financial losses.
Especially a vacation destination with a one-pillar tourism economy can ill afford to let these highly disruptive deeds go unchecked. Prosecuting culprits to the full extent of the law is therefore in the best general interest.
There was a time when reporting on such incidents was avoided to not stimulate others to do the same, but in today’s world of instant communication and social media that no longer makes sense. In addition, certainly when it regards the airport, consequences in terms of delayed flights, road closures, etc., can hardly be kept from the public.
Instead, authorities going after persons who behave so irresponsibly could make a positive difference.
In 2015 a man who issued e-mail threats against American University of the Caribbean (AUC) was detained.
In November last year there were two threatening phone calls targeting the parking lot of Princess Juliana International Airport SXM near the Pink Iguana bar, which led to the arrest of a British citizen born in Trinidad when he returned to the island a month later. The man was sentenced to 12 months in prison in April 2017.
Hopefully, a conviction and stiff punishment will again be the end result in this latest case. That might not guarantee others won’t follow the bad example, but it may at least serve as a strong deterrent.
