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| Former Torbay taxi driver jailed http://www.taxi-driver.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=28382 |
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| Author: | captain cab [ Tue Jan 19, 2016 9:39 am ] |
| Post subject: | Former Torbay taxi driver jailed |
Former Torbay taxi driver jailed for illegal stun gun collection A TORBAY taxi driver offered a female cabbie a stun gun to protect her from being robbed, a court has been told. But the offer backfired when she told her bosses and he was sacked, Exeter Crown Court heard. Chinese national Peng Zhao has now been jailed for five years for possessing a prohibited firearm and four related offences. The former restaurant owner told the court he kept tasers scattered about his house because he had a 'heightened fear of burglars'. But Judge Francis Gilbert QC was not convinced the defendant deserved to avoid the mandatory minimum five year sentence for the offences. Zhao, 39, from Aller Brake Road in Newton Abbot, said he was not aware he was breaking the law. But the court also heard how he bragged to friends in China online about his weapon collection, which would have been banned in his homeland. The defendant admitted one count of possessing a prohibited firearm; one of possessing taser ammunition; and three of possessing stun guns disguised as torches. Prosecutor David Bowen said police came to Zhao's house on June 12 last year. The defendant showed them around his home admitting the weapons belonged to him. He said he did not know the weapons were illegal and believed his legally-held shotgun licence would cover their ownership. Mr Bowen said: "Just before these offences the defendant was dismissed from a taxi firm because he offered a stun gun to one of his colleagues." The taxi company told Torbay Council who reported it to police. Paul Dunkels QC, mitigating, said: "An email was circulated in March by his employers when a lady taxi driver was robbed in Torbay," he said. Zhao then offered a stun gun to a female taxi driver who had been 'very helpful and kind to him' for added protection. When she refused Zhao was called into the office and sacked. Mr Dunkels said the defendant was a hard working man who had come to the UK in 2001. Between 2008 and 2013 ran a restaurant in Newton Abbot. He said a former employee at the restaurant had sold him the stun guns to fund a trip back to China. He added the defendant was a collector of weapons and would talk to friends in China about them via Skype. The QC argued the defendant should avoid the five year sentence partly because his wife was pregnant and partly because he acted out of a 'heightened fear or risk of being burgled'. Judge Francis Gilbert, QC, told him: "You told the police you knew such weapons were illegal in China but you did not attempt to inquire if they were illegal in England. "You had a shotgun certificate and two shotguns which indicates some knowledge of the firearms laws. "It is said you had the stun guns in case of intrusion at your home but you offered one to a work colleague, which shows you were willing for them to leave your control. "You had taken no steps to ensure they did not get into the wrong hands and therefore there was a risk to public safety. That is one of the reasons why parliament has decided these offences are so serious." Read more: http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/T ... z3xg4n6yKh |
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| Author: | edders23 [ Tue Jan 19, 2016 10:23 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: Former Torbay taxi driver jailed |
On the one hand it seems a bit harsh but the law is the law. Now if only we could deport him to china and save the taxpayers the cost of keeping him in a jail for 18 months or so ! |
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