FRAUDULENT FINDINGS
EDINBURGH PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER ACCUSED OF CREATING FALSE LICENCE DOCUMENT
An Edinburgh private hire driver has been accused of falsifying documents so he could continue operating. Shakti Singh faced having his licence suspended as a result when he went before Edinburgh Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee on 25 July. In the report, published online, officials said Mr Singh was no longer considered “a fit and proper person” to hold a licence following “an admission of deliberate falsi- fication of a licence document” by Mr Singh. The council was first contacted in April by Bolt, through which the driver operated, to report the alleged incident. Bolt requires its drivers to provide proof of both
themselves and their vehicles being fully licensed, said Mr Singh “had uploaded a potentially falsified document,” adding that as a result it had suspended his account and he was unable to accept bookings. At an interview with council officers in May he then “admitted to changing the expiry date on the private hire car licence document before submitting it to Bolt,” the report said.
It added Mr Singh stated that because the original owner of the vehicle had sent him the original licence document dated 2023 “he thought he could change the date to 2024”. The report continued: “This
appears to be an admission of deliberate falsification of a licence document and amounts to inappropriate behaviour for a person working as a licensed driver. “It is sufficiently serious to call into question Mr Singh’s continued fitness to hold a licence, and hence the request for suspension of the licence. “The directorate recommends that the licence is suspended on the grounds that Mr Singh is no longer a fit and proper person to be the holder of the licence.” Edinburgh Council later said that as the meeting was held in private the results also had to be kept confidential.
BLABY LICENSED PH DRIVER PROSECUTED FOR FRAUD FOR SUPPLYING FALSE INFORMATION
A rogue private hire driver who lied about having a previous licence revoked has been prosecuted for fraud. Mohammed Mirza Noor, 51, from Leicester, had his PH licence revoked in 2015 by Leicester City Council for plying for hire - but then lied to a different council about this to get a new licence. Through his lies Noor abused a position of trust, magistrates ruled, as “members of the public would be getting into his taxi on trust yet not knowing he has lied to the council”. Noor pleaded guilty to fraud at Leicester Magistrates’ Court last month and was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work.
Noor said in an application to 54
Blaby DC for a new licence that he had never been refused a licence and had never held one with another council. The council granted him a three-year licence. This was then renewed three years later in 2019 when Noor again said he’d never been refused a licence. However, when he came to renew in 2022, Noor admitted he had previously had his licence revoked. Blaby DC said, upon investigating, it was then told by Leicester CC about the revocationin 2015, so refused his application and took steps to prosecute. Noor admitted to lying to the council and deliberately failing to disclose information relating to his previous offences for personal gain
during an interview with the council under caution in March. He then pleaded guilty to fraud by failing to
disclose information
when he appeared at Leicester Magistrates’ Court on August 2. He was given a 12-month community service order in which time he must complete 100 hours’ unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay costs, including a victim surcharge, of £1,467.64. Magistrates said Noor had abused his position of trust as “members of the public would be getting into his taxi on trust yet not knowing he has lied to the council”, adding he had conducted this “fraudulent activity” over a “sustained period of time”.
SEPTEMBER 2023 PHTM
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