Taxi driver’s licence revoked following sexual assault allegationA COURT has upheld the council’s decision to revoke a taxi driver’s licence after he was accused of sexually assaulting a passenger.
Recorder David Williams ruled in favour of the council following an appeal at Warrington Crown Court on Friday.
The court heard how members of the Taxi Licensing Sub-Committee made the decision to suspend the licence of Shafiq Nadeem, of Jefferson Drive, Chapelford.
This was after two separate allegations of inappropriate behaviour came to light.
But Mr Nadeem denied both incidents and accused the passengers of being upset over the taxi fare.
The dad-of-four was accused of acting inappropriately towards a teenager while he drove her home on December 18, 2011, in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Nadeem allegedly told the complainant, who was aged 18 or 19 at the time, that she was beautiful, asked her if she had a boyfriend and asked her to get into the front seat of the car – making her feel uncomfortable.
No further action was taken by the council following the first complaint four years ago due to a lack of evidence.
A second incident was investigated in February 2014 after a woman accused the taxi driver of grabbing her breast.
While the Crown Prosecution Service ruled there was in sufficient evidence to take the matter to the criminal courts, the Taxi Licensing Sub-Committee made the decision to revoke his licence.
This decision was successfully appealed at Halton Magistrates’ Court by Mr Nadeem in October 2014.
But the council decided to appeal against the magistrates’ ruling as it was argued that the ‘wrong tests’ were applied.
Malcolm Hope, who was acting on behalf of the council, said that Mr Nadeem could no longer work as a taxi driver as he was not a ‘fit and proper person’ to hold the licence.
He said: “In both of these cases there were young ladies in your cab and you fancied them and fancied your chances.
“There was no consequence for the first complainant and no further action from the local authority and police so you tried again with another.”
Mr Hope also denied that there was a dispute over the fare as the money was paid in full by both complainants, who are not known to each other.
But Maria Muller, who was acting on behalf of Mr Nadeem, argued that on both occasions the women had been drinking and that the incidents did not happen.
She said: “Mr Nadeem has had his licence for a long time. Even since his licence has been reinstated, he has been driving for over a year with no complaints.
“He has no previous convictions and is a man of good character.”
But Recorder Williams ruled that Mr Nadeem was not a fit and proper person to hold a taxi licence.
He said: “Incidents of this nature automatically disqualify Mr Nadeem from driving a public vehicle.
“If he was to go before a taxi licensing authority he would not be issued with a licence."
Editor's note: The council refused to release details of Mr Nadeem's age.source:
http://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/new ... /ref=fbpg/
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