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Glasgow man convicted for 'setting fire to a car' gets taxi driver licence
A man with convictions for “reckless” driving and setting fire to a car has been permitted to work as a taxi driver after promising he is a “changed man”.
Glasgow’s licensing committee handed a restricted one-year licence to Abdullah Monsaf after Police Scotland objected to his application.
He was also issued with a “severe warning” over his conduct.
A Police Scotland representative told councillors that the force believed Mr Monsaf is “not a fit and proper person to be granted a taxi driver’s licence”.
She said he had been fined £135 after he was “observed by police driving in a culpable and reckless manner” in October 2019.
Then, in February 2020, he “did wilfully set fire to a motor vehicle”, the officer added, and was given a community payback order of 45 hours.
Asked to explain his actions, Mr Monsaf said he was “hanging out with the wrong crowd”. He denied setting fire to the car but said his “fingerprints were on it” and he pleaded guilty.
“I didn’t know initially what they were going to do, set it on fire,” he added. “Everyone hangs around with the wrong friends in their life when they are young.”
The driver said he was “a changed man”. He is now married and has been working for First Bus as “a professional driver”. “On a daily basis, I have been dealing with the public as well and I have had no trouble,” he added.
He said he is working long shifts and wants the flexibility offered by being a taxi driver. Mr Monsaf also said he has no points on his driving licence.
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