FIT AND PROPER
ST HELENS TAXI DRIVER DRAGGED INTO BITTER FEUD GIVEN WRITTEN WARNING
A taxi driver who spat on someone’s drive- way after getting caught up in a bitter feud between two neighbours has been let off with a written warning. According to the St Helens Star, the incident was one of three complaints reported to Merseyside Police but no action was taken by the police although it was referred to St Helens Borough Council’s licensing team. Subsequently, a review of the driver’s licence was referred to the council’s licens- ing committee. The hearing took place in private, although some details of the pro-
ceedings have been printed in minutes of the meeting. The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that the complainant had been engaged in a long-running feud with one of his neighbours, who was a regular client of the taxi driver. On one occasion, it was alleged that the driver spat out of his win- dow, onto the complainant’s driveway. The complainant reported the incident to the police, arguing that he was the victim of tar- geted behaviour. He called the police a second time after the
driver threw a small novelty firework on the man’s driveway. Finally, Merseyside Police were called for a third time to report the taxi driver for beeping his horn in the morning. The driver, whose identity is anonymous in the minutes, attended the licensing review meeting via a phone link, as did the com- plainant. The committee then deliberated in private with the council’s solicitor. The councillors resolved that, on the balance of probabili- ties, a warning letter be sent to the driver regarding the driver’s future conduct.
EX-POLICEMAN WHO ABDUCTED SCHOOLGIRL WINS APPEAL AND IS GRANTED LICENCE TO DRIVE TAXI IN SEFTON
An ex-policeman has won his fight to become a taxi driver in Sefton despite the fact that he previously abducted a school- girl. In 2006 Imran Ali, 39, picked up a 15-year-old and another girl in a vehicle after the teenagers had spent the evening in Manchester city centre. Ali, from Manchester, subsequently pleaded guilty to abducting a child under 16 and he later resigned from the police force. Earlier this year, he applied for a private hire licence from Sefton Council but the coun- cil’s taxi licensing committee refused his application on the basis that “driving a taxi is a privilege” and that Ali “was not a fit and proper person”. Ali appealed the decision at South Sefton Magistrates Court on 1 September saying that he was completely “remorseful” and “rehabilitated”. He said: “I am managing three different charities. I have proven myself, I am giving back to society.” He also explained that he has a successful property portfolio and has recently
TWO BOLTON MEN FINED FOR PLYING FOR HIRE
Two PHV drivers caught plying for hire on Deansgate, Manchester on 4 October last, have been fined by magistrates. Reyhaz Mohammed, and Khalique Shahdazi, both from Bolton admitted committing the offence and having no insurance. Each was fined a total of £170 and ordered to pay £200 costs and six penalty points were added to their licences.
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obtained a qualification in civil engineering. Sefton Council’s lawyer, Fiona Townsend, asked why he wanted to be a taxi driver, Ali said it came down to the flexible work- ing hours, and that he would have to study for another year to receive a civil engineering degree, which he could not afford to do. When asked why he chose to operate so far from home, he said there was a much bigger waiting list for a private hire licence in Manchester than in Sefton. Sefton’s Principal Trading Standards Officer, Mark Toohey, said that there were no nation- al guidelines specifying how much time had
to elapse before being considered for a licence for an offence relating to child abduction, as cases of this nature are rare . Magistrates reversed the council’s decision to refuse his private hire licence, Magistrate Keith Elford said: “Mr Ali’ s conviction dates back more than 14 years. Since then, he has successfully built a business portfolio and achieved qualifications, as well as starting a family and has contributed significantly to the welfare of his local community. “Sefton Council could not set a precedent for this type of offence. “He is a fit and proper person for a taxi driv- er licence.”
STOCKPORT MINICAB DRIVERS FINED FOR OPERATING IN WILMSLOW
Two Stockport taxi drivers who were tout- ing for business in Wilmslow have been fined following an undercover operation. Monjur Ahmed and Mohammed Perveg Ahmed were caught in a joint operation involving Cheshire East Council’s enforce- ment team and Cheshire Police. Plain-clothes police officers posed as customers to catch the private hire drivers as they were plying for business at the roadside in Wilmslow. As they did not have a licence to operate in Cheshire East, they were in breach of private hire regulations. The two drivers, who were licensed with Stockport Council, agreed to take their pas- sengers – not knowing they were undercover police. Once they set off, they
were intercepted by a marked police car. Cheshire East Council’s licensing team suc- cessfully prosecuted the two operators when they appeared at Crewe Magistrates Court on separate dates. Both were convicted of plying for hire with- out a licence for the borough in which they were operating. They were also convicted of driving without insurance. Monjur, 42, pleaded guilty and was fined £180 with £150 costs, he also received six penalty points on his driver’s licence and could now face having his operator’s licence revoked by Stockport Council. Mohammed, 39, was fined £500 with £2,000 costs and he also received eight penalty points on his driver’s licence and also faces losing his operator’s licence.
OCTOBER 2020
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