FIT AND PROPER
GLASGOW MAN CONVICTED FOR SETTING FIRE TO A CAR GETS TAXI DRIVER LICENCE
A man with convictions for “reckless” driving and setting fire to a car has been permitted to work as a taxi driver after promising he is a “changed man”. Glasgow’s licensing committee handed a restricted one-year licence to Abdullah Monsaf after Police Scotland objected to his application. He was also issued with a “severe warning” over his conduct. A Police Scotland representative told councillors that the force believed Mr Monsaf is “not a fit and proper person to be granted a taxi
driver’s licence”.
She said he had been fined £135 after he was “observed by police driving in a culpable and reckless manner” in October 2019. In February 2020, he “did wilfully set fire to a motor vehicle”, the officer added, and was given a community payback order of 45 hours. Asked to explain his actions, Mr Monsaf said he was “hanging out with the wrong crowd”. He denied setting fire to the car but said his “fingerprints were on it” and he pleaded guilty. “I didn’t know initially what they
were going to do, set it on fire,” he added. “Everyone hangs around with the wrong friends in their life when they are young.” The driver said he was “a changed man”. He is now married and has been working for First Bus as “a professional driver”. “On a daily basis, I have been dealing with the public as well and I have had no trouble,” he added. He said he is working long shifts and wants the flexibility offered by being a taxi driver.
Mr Monsaf also said he has no points on his driving licence.
PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER CAUGHT OUT BY LIVERPOOL CITY COUNCIL WORKING WITHOUT LICENCE
A man illegally working as a Liverpool private hire driver has been fined and banned from driving following an investigation by Liverpool City Council’s Taxi Licensing team. On 6 July, Mruan Elkehya pleaded guilty to ten charges including acting as a private hire driver, driving without insurance and plying for hire without a licence. He received 24 penalty points on his DVLA licence and was disqualified for driving for 12 months. In addition, he was also fined £440, has to pay costs of £325 and a surcharge of £176. The successful prosecution follows a two-month investigation which saw the city council’s Licensing Enforcement Officers observe Mr Elkehya plying for trade illegally on five different occasions. Officers were initially alerted to the
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actions of the driver after he was stopped on Saturday 4 February 2023 and produced an out-of-date driver’s badge. In the weeks running up to Wednesday 8 March, he was stopped four more times when he was witnessed dropping people off in the city centre and displaying magnetic taxi door signs for companies he didn’t work for, and even on one occasion had two Liverpool City Council magnetic signs on display. Although previously a Liverpool private hire licence holder, and despite giving assurances that he was in the process of renewing his licence, this did not happen and Mr Elkehya was cautioned for the offences by the city council team and then by Merseyside Police. The case was heard at Liverpool Magistrates Court.
Liverpool City Council’s Cabinet Member responsible for taxi licensing, Cllr Harry Doyle, said: “These rogue drivers not only jeopardise the wellbeing of unsuspecting passengers but also undermine the credibility of legitimate taxi services. “By operating without the neces- sary licences and insurance, they create a hazardous environ-ment on our roads, leaving innocent lives at risk. The severity of this ban, penalty points and fine sends out a strong message that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated and our proactive team will do everything they can to
keep
people like this off our streets. “I’d like to congratulate the team for their work in making sure every journey is a safe and secure, provided by licensed, responsible and trustworthy drivers.”
SEPTEMBER 2023 PHTM
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