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| Not 'fit and proper' one little bit. http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1392 |
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| Author: | Sussex [ Mon Jan 17, 2005 6:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Not 'fit and proper' one little bit. |
Assault rap taxi driver loses licence A TAXI driver has had his licence suspended after being accused of a string of indecent assaults. Robert Johnston is facing court after being charged with five separate offences over a six-month period last year. Councillors have suspended his taxi driver's licence and his identification has been returned. At the council meeting, Chief Inspector Barry Donaldson, of Strathclyde Police's licensing division, read the list of charges faced by Johnston. Mr Donaldson told the meeting that Johnston, of East Freelands, Erskine, was charged with assaulting a female passenger last July. In November last year, he was charged with an assault on a 25-year-old female passenger. During the same month, he was also accused of indecently assaulting a 27-year-old female and a 32-year-old female in separate incidents in his cab. And in December, Johnston, who failed to appear at last week's meeting at the City Chambers, was again charged with an indecent assault on an 18-year-old female passenger. He was arrested shortly after the last complaint was made in early December, when the police first urged the board to suspend his licence. Mr Donaldson called on the committee to continue with the cabbie's suspension. Licensing committee vice-convener, Councillor John Moynes, said it was in the interest of public safety to continue with the suspension, which will continue for six weeks - after which Johnston's three-year licence will have expired. He is not the first cabbie forced off the road after allegations of sexual crimes. Last June, a private hire driver, who walked free from court following accusations he sexually assaulted a female passenger, had his licence removed. Patrick Convery, from Shettleston, was permanently banned after the licensing committee ruled he was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence. Convery appeared in court last year on charges that he forced himself on a 16-year-old girl he had picked up in Shettleston and had attempted to get her to perform a sex act on him. He was cleared of the allegations after Sheriff Mitchell ruled there was insufficient evidence. A council spokeswoman said: "Following a report read out on behalf of the chief constable, the committee suspended the licence of a taxi driver with immediate effect. "But as the matter is the subject of ongoing legal proceedings we cannot comment further at this time." |
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