Unruly visitor gets 14-day stay at ‘1735’

The female visitor who kicked a cop in the groin and refused to be searched on arrival at the airport on Monday was sentenced to 14 days in jail yesterday. All Saints Magistrate Ngaio Emanuel handed down the punishment on Masayo Goto who pleaded guilty to battery, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. For the first two charges, the court ordered she must serve 14 days; and for the third offence, the sentence is seven days.
However, she will only serve two weeks because the sentences are to run concurrently. During her trial, the 57- year-old Japanese woman spoke fluent English, supporting the investigator’s point that the issue had nothing to do with a language barrier. After she was sentenced, Goto, who was scheduled to leave Antigua for St. Vincent yesterday, began screaming that she must leave the island and that she would call the Japanese Embassy.
More law enforcement personnel had to be called in to control her in court and transport her to prison on the bus. When Goto arrived in Antigua on Monday, on a Caribbean Airlines flight, she refused to be searched by Customs officers. As her screams and shouts grew louder, officers from the Narcotics Division and K-9 Unit, who were also on duty at the airport, went to help.
During the process, an officer was kicked and Goto continued screaming and refusing to be searched. The police said her bags were eventually searched and nothing of interest was found.