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| Police investigate attack on cabbie http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=13241 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:24 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Police investigate attack on cabbie |
Police investigate attack on cabbie POLICE are investigating after a taxi driver was injured in an apparently unprovoked attack. Mohammed Sajed, aged 39, suffered bruising and facial injuries after being set upon by a passenger in the early hours of Sunday. Hackney carriage driver Mr Sajed picked up a group of five men in Hanley, who asked to be taken to the Army barracks at Tern Hill, near Market Drayton. Mr Sajed said he stopped in Stoke when the men asked to be taken to a cash machine, and was attacked by one of the group. He said: "I stopped in between the HSBC and Barclays banks and all the lads got out. Then one opened my door and threw a punch at me, which knocked me over to the passenger side. Then he got inside the vehicle and started punching me in the head. "He was swearing at me and using racist abuse. I thought he wasn't going to stop – I really thought he was going to kill me." After the attack, which happened at around 3.30am, the group ran off and Mr Sajed called the police. He said: "I hadn't had any trouble with them before we got to Stoke, all I said to them was 'where are you going lads?' "They asked how much it was going to be and I said it was on the meter, but gave them an estimate of £30 to £40. "They didn't sound local, two of them had Irish accents. "It was completely unprovoked, I can't understand why I was attacked." Mr Sajed, who was born in Stoke-on-Trent and lives in Shelton, went to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire to be checked out. He said this was the first time he had had any trouble during his 15-year career as a taxi driver. "I'm devastated by it," he said. "I'm just a taxi driver trying to earn a living, and being attacked like that is really demoralising. I'm thinking of not working nights anymore." Abdul Rauf, chairman of Stoke-on-Trent Hackney Carriage Association, condemned the attack. He said: "This is a serious issue for taxi drivers in the city. Working nights and in the early hours they are vulnerable, and something needs to be done to guarantee their safety. But I don't know how we are going to achieve this target." Police have launched an investigation into the attack on Mr Sajed. Officers are checking records from the cash machines in an attempt to trace the men involved. A police spokesman said: "We received a call at 4am on Sunday from the injured party reporting he had been assaulted. A patrol attended. "The incident is currently being invested by police and anyone with any information is asked to contact us." Anyone with information is asked to call Staffordshire Police on 0300 123 4455. source: http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/news/ |
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