Taxi driver too scared to work late shifts after teenager's racist attackA TAXI driver who was racially abused and attacked by a passenger was off work for almost three months and has been too terrified to work night shifts.
Rashad Mahmood was punched to the head, which knocked him to the ground, and then kicked by Robert Hackett.
This was after 19-year-old Hackett used racist words, told Mr Mahmood he should "go back to his own country" and that he should be washing cars, Derby Crown Court heard.
The teenager spat on the windows inside the taxi before grabbing Mr Mahmood around the chest as he drove.
The cab driver then stopped the vehicle and pressed the panic button, which alerted his control base.
Hackett then launched his vicious attack on Mr Mahmood and other passengers joined in. They ran off when a car drove past.
Mr Mahmood was taken to Burton's Queen's Hospital with bruising and a cut to his left eye, swelling to his head and chest pain.
Prosecutor Alex Wolfson said: "He was unable to sleep [after the attack].
"He was stressed and unwell because he was too scared to go to work and that's where the money to support his family came from.
"He said he had feared for his life and thinks the [passing] car that interrupted the assault saved him."
Mr Mahmood stayed off work for almost three months and, when he returned, felt unable to work weekends or night shifts, which "greatly reduced his earnings".
Sending Hackett to a young offenders' institution for 10 months, Judge John Gosling said that, although the injuries inflicted on Mr Mahmood, had not been grave, the psychological impact had been "very serious".
Judge Gosling said: "He was terrified and left lying on the ground, and couldn't go back to work for three months. He continues to feel vulnerable and insecure at work.
"You used a shod foot to deliver blows to his head and body. And you gave him a gratuitous kick as the others were running away as a car arrived."
The court heard that Mr Mahmood was attacked on June 25 last year after he picked Hackett and other passengers up from the Greyhound Inn, in Ashby Road, Woodville.
Hackett, of Sage Drive, Woodville, admitted racially aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm on June 25.
Judge Gosling said that, after reading references for Hackett, he could tell that the defendant was "an exemplary character" and had expressed "real remorse".
Read more:
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Taxi- ... z2QcxWlYEk Northampton cabbie recorded racist rant by passenger A man who unleashed a tirade of racist, expletive-laden abuse at a taxi driver was forced to own up as the cabbie had recorded his rant.
William Portley disputed a £17 fare after being taken home from a night out drinking, at which point he started swearing and racially abusing the driver.
But the driver managed to record the incident on his mobile phone, which was then used as evidence in court.
Portley, aged 45, of Station Road, Cogenhoe, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on Monday. The court heard the incident, on August 6, started when the driver picked up Portley from the King David pub in Kingsthorpe.
Alexandra Bull, prosecuting, said: “He asked him to get out of the car for a fight. He said he was not getting his money. The driver asked for £10, at which point he started to abuse him again.”
Among a torrent of abuse, Portley shouted “I owe you nothing” and “your greed has got you nothing” at the driver.
Steven Evans, mitigating, said: “He has put his hands up and is a desperately ashamed man.”
Judge Rupert Mayo said: “You were obviously a mess last summer and your behaviour was out of character. But these are serious offences.”
Portley was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for a year, and 80 hours of unpaid work. He was ordered to pay costs of £250.
source:
http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/news/ ... -1-4992564
Login
Register
FAQ
