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Rogue cabbie loses taxi permit
A cabbie who refused a blind passenger and her guide dog has been stripped of his licence. Hamid Rahim went before Newcastle City Council bosses to renew his licence to drive a Hackney cab in the city. But they refused after hearing of his two convictions.
Rahim was fined for failing to pick up blind passenger Estelle McLean in 2004 and a year earlier he was convicted of speeding. He told the council licensing panel he had not realised Mrs McLean was blind or that she had a guide dog with her. Rahim appealed against the decision but the city's JPs upheld it.
Chairman of the bench John Doyle told him: "The test of this appeal is whether you are a fit and proper person to hold a licence. "We have listened carefully to the evidence and have decided that you are not."
Rahim, who has held a licence since 2003, was found guilty at a trial of not picking up Mrs McLean. He had been waiting in the queue outside Central Station when a member of GNER staff showed Mrs McLean and her guide dog to Rahim's vehicle. But he refused the fare and Mrs McLean, was forced to get a different taxi.
During the trial he told the court he was ill and needed to take a tablet for a headache and use the toilet. But when he appeared before a council panel deciding on whether he should have his licence renewed, Rahim, of Callerton Place, Newcastle, told a different story.
Prosecuting for the council Melanie Bulman said Rahim had the chance to explain his convictions to the five committee members but told them he never realised the passenger had a guide dog. Miss Bulman also produced a front page report from the Chronicle backing up her claim after we covered the court story.
Defending, Warren Ridley told JPs Rahim had in no way tried to "minimise" his two convictions. And he called on them to overturn the council's decision.
But Mr Doyle added: "When you consider that you gave two different versions of events at two separate times, that calls into question your honesty."
After the case David O'Brien, licensing manager with the council, said: "Obviously we are pleased magistrates backed our decision. The fare-paying public, and especially disabled people, rely heavily on taxis to get about and it is our duty to protect."
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