SHAME SHAME...
LONDON DRIVER WHO EXPOSED HIMSELF TO PASSENGER AND DROVE HER AROUND FOR TWO HOURS AVOIDS JAIL
An Uber driver who exposed himself to a passenger before driving her around for almost two hours has avoided jail. The Independent reports that Nad- eem Afzal, 51, picked up the woman after she booked a taxi fol- lowing a night out in north London on Halloween.
But about 20 min- utes into the jour- ney, he exposed himself to the victim and asked her sev- eral times to touch him and perform a sex act. The woman refused
and made an audio recording of the conversation while continuing to reject his advances. After almost two hours, the victim was dropped off at a fast-food restau- rant near her home in south London. The journey should have taken just 40 minutes. Once the victim was home, she called the police who began a manhunt for the driver. Afzal, from Chig- well, was quickly identified and charged on 19 August with one count of exposure.
Nadeem Afzal
He appeared at Wimbledon Magis- trates’ Court a month later and in November pleaded guilty to the charge. Afzal was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, at Kingston Crown
Court last month. He also received a ten-year sexual harm prevention order and was put on the sex offend- ers’ register for ten years. Sergeant Jonny Harris, from the Metropolitan Pol-
ice’s roads and transport command, said: “Afzal preyed on this female pas- senger in his minicab and was extremely persistent in his sexual ad- vances and be- haviour, leaving the passenger feeling scared and vulnera- ble. “The victim showed courage coming for- ward to police and reporting Afzal, who is now a registered sex offender and can no longer work as a PHV driver.” Mandy McGregor, head of transport policing and com- munity safety at TfL,
added: “Nobody should ever be sub- jected to this kind of revolting and preda- tory behaviour and we are pleased to hear that Afzal has been brought to jus- tice for his actions. “We applaud the bravery of the vic- tim for coming forward. “We expect the highest standards from TfL-licensed taxi and private hire drivers, which is why Afzal is no longer a licensed driver. We
take
every report seri- ously so it can be investigated by the police.”
CAERNARFON DRIVER’S CAREER OVER FOR DRINK DRIVING WHILE CARRYING PASSENGERS
A taxi carrying three passengers was being driven by a man who was more than twice the drink-drive limit. According to the Daily Post, police carried out a spot check on the Ford Mondeo vehicle being driven by Owen Huw Owen on the A487 near Caernarfon late on December 7 as part of the annual anti- drink drive cam- paign over Christ- mas and New Year. Magistrates at Caernarfon heard that Owen gave a
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positive roadside breath test. Owen, 69, from Tre- for near Caernarfon, had said it may have been the effects of a mouth- wash, Diane Wil- liams, prosecuting, said.
Further tests car- ried out at a police station after Owen was arrested show- ed he had 74 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millil- itres of breath. The legal limit is 35. Owen, who has no previous convic- tions, admitted the offence.
Owen Huw Owen
Michael Strain, de- fending, said Owen had drunk some wine with the evening meal he had eaten earlier that evening. A retired mechanic,
he supplemented his state pension with taxi driving, added Mr Strain. Bench chairman Gordon Browne said the offence of drink driving was
always viewed seri- ously by the court and was aggravat- ed by the work Owen was carrying out. “You were in a very responsible posi- tion and you have let yourself down badly,” he said. Owen was made the subject of a 12- month community order and given 60 hours’ unpaid work. He must also attend 15 days of rehabilita- tion to address alcohol awareness and poor decision making and pay costs and a victim
surcharge totalling £175.
Banning him from driving for 20 months, Mr Browne warned him not to drive whilst disqual- ified. Owen’ s taxi licence was issued by Gwynedd County Council. After the hearing a council spokesman said: “The safety of the public is of para- mount importance. Naturally the coun- cil would not ap- prove any request to renew the indi- vidual’s cence.”
taxi li- FEBRUARY 2020
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