Taxi Driver Online

Does say the driver was on-duty, but nothing to say whether it was a passenger, or road rage thing, or what

Happened on Sunday morning at the time people used to go to church - certainly not the usual time you'd expect for this kind of thing


Man killed in Wolverhampton street attack was 'lovely' taxi driver

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/cri ... xi-driver/

The victim of a fatal assault in Wolverhampton was an on duty taxi driver.

The man, aged in his 50s and a driver for ABC Cars in Wolverhampton, died after suffering serious injuries after arriving, in Nine Elms Lane, in Park Village, shortly before 10.45am on Sunday morning.

Despite the efforts of police officers and paramedics, the private hire driver who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene near the junction with Crowther Street off Cannock Road.

Paying tribute, an independent driver who did not want to be named, told the Express & Star: "This is a sad thing to have happened. He was a lovely chap. We worked for different companies, but you get to know the drivers. I actually saw him not so long ago.

"I saw the report on social media, but I didn't know it was a taxi driver until I started my shift this morning. I recognised his description straight away. My thoughts are with his family."

Stunned residents in Nine Elms Lane said investigating officers set up cordons in near where the silver-coloured taxi was positioned and carried out to door-to-door inquiries in the aftermath.

Among them was Marian Stephan, 33, a lorry driver who said: "I was working on my car when I noticed two ambulances and many police cars come into the street.

"I walked up the road to see what was going on, but by the time I got there the police cordoned off the street. I didn't see anything.

"A guy came up to me afterwards and said that a taxi driver had died."

Sandeep Singh, 42, said: "The police came and knocked our door to ask if we saw what happened. I told them we didn't see anything. I'm very shocked about it and I feel sorry for this man's family."

Julia Urbanska, 31, added: "It is a very bad situation. My condolences to his family.

"I went shopping in the afternoon and caught a taxi home. The driver was talking about it and said some of the other drivers stopped working when they heard what had happened."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called to reports of an assault at the junction of Crowther Street and Nine Elms Lane at 10.43am yesterday. Two ambulances, two paramedic officers and a MERIT trauma doctor attended the scene.

"On arrival we discovered a male patient who was in a critical condition and already receiving medical attention from police colleagues.

"Ambulance staff administered advanced life support but sadly, despite everyone’s best efforts it became apparent nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene."

West Midlands Police has arrested a 35-year-old man on suspicion of murder and he remained in custody for questioning on Monday afternoon following the incident.

Any witnesses with information about the incident should contact detectives via Live Chat at west-midlands.police,uk, or phone 101 quoting log 1516, of 30 October.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Man charged with murder of taxi driver in Wolverhampton

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/cri ... erhampton/

Anakh Singh, 59, was found with serious injuries in Nine Elms Lane, in Park Village, on Sunday.

Despite the efforts of police officers and paramedics, Mr Singh was pronounced dead at the scene near the junction with Crowther Street off Cannock Road.

A post mortem was carried out but the results were inconclusive.

Tomasz Margol, 35, has now been charged with murder and appeared at Wolverhampton Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

He was remanded in custody and will appear at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Wednesday.

Detective Inspector Michelle Thurgood, from the homicide team at West Midlands Police, said: “We’ve kept Mr Singh’s family updated with this development as officers continue to support them during this tragic time."

Wolverhampton-based ABC Cars, where Mr Singh worked, set up a JustGiving page in his memory on Monday with the aim of raising £2,000 for his family.

It has already hit its target, with even more donations flooding in at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/anakhsingh

It comes as a taxi boss has paid tribute to Mr Singh, a father-of-two from Wolverhampton who had worked for ABC Cars for the past five years.

The firm says it was a "senseless loss which has devastated his close family and friends".

West Midlands Ambulance Service said it had been called to reports of an assault in Nine Elms Lane on Sunday and found a man in critical condition.

A spokesman for WMAS said: "Ambulance staff administered advanced life support but sadly, despite everyone’s best efforts it became apparent nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene."

Police are continuing to appeal to anyone with information to come forward.

People can contact West Midlands Police via live chat on the force's website or call 101, quoting log 1516, of October 30.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111 or at crimestoppers-uk.org

£10,000 raised for the family of Anakh.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/loc ... der-probe/

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IDFIMH

Not unusual to read about interpreters being required in court cases, but not usually in Polish, nor even East European more generally


Man denies murdering Wolverhampton taxi driver found with serious injuries

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/cri ... -injuries/

A man accused of murdering Wolverhampton taxi driver Anak Singh has pleaded not guilty to the offence.

Tomasz Margol, 35, of Bamford Road, Merridale, appeared at the crown court on Monday morning charged with his murder. Speaking through a Polish interpreter, Margol spoke only to confirm his name and his not guilty plea.

Father-of-two Anak Singh was found in a critical condition in Nine Elms Lane, in Park Village, Wolverhampton, on October 30, but despite the efforts of the emergency services he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The case was adjourned for a trial date to be fixed and the defendant was remanded in custody.

A fundraiser launched to raise money for Anak Singh's family has now reached more than £11,500. It can be viewed at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/anakhsingh

we get quite a few stabbings and murders in Lincolnshire these days and when it comes to court the perpetrator is usually Eastern European. It seems to be normal for them to carry knives but as always if you carry a weapon there is a much higher chance of it getting used !

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

At a guess, I would say Polish is the most popular, if that's the right word, language needing a translator in court. Followed by Arabic and Albanian.

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IDFIMH

Driver safety enclosure review for private hire taxis

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/loc ... ire-taxis/

Safety enclosures separating drivers from passengers inside private hire taxis in Wolverhampton are to be reviewed by licensing bosses, following the death of a driver last year.

Cabbie Anakh Singh, 59, was discovered with fatal injuries in Nine Elms Lane, Park Village, on October 30.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Singh is believed to have been working for Wolverhampton-based firm ABC Cars when he died.

Tomasz Margol, 35, appeared at Wolverhampton Crown Court in December where he denied a single count of murder and was remanded in custody for trial on a date yet to be set.

City council spokesman Oliver Bhurrut said the review was not directly linked to the stabbing.

"As a licensing authority we constantly review driver and passenger safety and ways this can be improved," he said.

In a report to the city council’s regulatory committee, licensing manager Greg Bickerdike said: “The Private Hire Trade Working Group have expressed a desire for Driver Safety Enclosures (DSE). Whilst this committee has already permitted vehicle proprietors to install CCTV within their vehicles, if it complies with the council’s taxi CCTV policy, newer equipment is now available to protect drivers.

“This novel equipment is not covered by licensing services’ current policies. These are typically rigid plastic enclosures which are installed in a vehicle to segregate the driver from the passengers.

“The council acknowledges the protective features of these products but recognises that amateur installation and/or unapproved products result in increased risks, particularly in relation to road traffic collisions. Due to the profile of this issue in the media and trade, a six-week consultation on driver safety enclosures is being requested.”

Once approved by the committee, the following parties will be consulted: service users (licence holders and applicants), The Hackney Carriage Trade Working Group, The Private Hire Trade Working Group, other licensing authorities, National Association of Licensing Enforcement Officers (NALEO), Institute of Licensing (IoL), Black Country Magistrates Court, Department for Transport (DfT), West Midlands Police, disabled groups, equality diversity and inclusion team.

The council’s regulatory committee will discuss the matter next Wednesday.

For more information on taxi safety see wolverhampton.gov.uk/licences/taxi-licences/gethomesafe

that would be difficult to achieve and puts a lot of passengers off using public transport if they feel they are physically separated from the driver.

That said I get the impression that violence against our trade is getting worse and I wonder whether maybe it is time to introduce such measures.

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

If the drivers want them then they should have them.

Councillors sticking their noses in only delays and make things worse.

If punters don't want to get in those cars then they have the option to not get in or request a non-screen car when booking.

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IDFIMH

Popular Wolverhampton taxi driver killed over £5.80 fare in broad daylight, court told

A hard working Wolverhampton taxi driver was savagely killed by a passenger during an argument over a £5.80 fare, a court has heard.

Father of two Anakh Singh, 59, died after being brutally assaulted next to his taxi on Nine Elms Lane, Park Village Wolverhampton, in broad daylight on Sunday morning, October 30 last year, at Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.

Tomasz Margol, 36, of Bamford Road, Wolverhampton, is on trial for the murder of the popular taxi driver.

The jury was told several witnesses saw the pair arguing loudly before they began fighting, which resulted with Mr Singh dying from his injuries at the scene.

Local resident Palvinder Kaur, who was pregnant at the time, saw the commotion from her window and went outside.

She said: "I could see a man who looked Romanian arguing with a taxi driver on the pavement. But I could only see from above their shoulders as they were the other side of the taxi.

"The Romanian man punched the taxi driver full force, twice. Like how a boxer would punch someone, very hard. His turban had also been knocked off his head."

"The taxi driver then went to the boot of his car and took something out, it looked like two sheets of paper length long, like a part of a cage."

She added: "I decided to phone the police, so I went into my house to get my phone. I then heard screaming. When I went back outside the taxi driver was covered in blood.

Mr Singh, who had worked for ABC Cars for five years, was described by the taxi firm's owner Mark Bullock as a hard working driver who did lots of shifts.

A GoFundMe collection by the firm raised over £10,000 for Mr Singh's distraught family.

Another ABC driver, Iyaz Khan, had been called to Nine Elms Road and also saw the fight in his rear view mirror before driving off to another job. Two drivers had been called to the same address.

He told the court: "I saw the two fighting, I could not see everything because they were behind the taxi and I was looking in my rear view mirror."

Balvinder Singh was driving with his wife when he saw the commotion and stopped to help the taxi driver.

Giving evidence behind a screen in court, through an interpreter, he said: "I saw blood everywhere. All over Mr Singh, all over the floor. All over the taxi.

"I saw the white man hand Mr Singh his turban and ask if he was OK."

He added: "I asked Mr Singh if he was OK, he replied 'this sister-****** has just assaulted me, phone the police.

"The white man then ran off, when I called after him, he stuck his finger up at me and ran off towards the park."

The trial continues.

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IDFIMH

What does a Romanian look like?

A lot of people might construe a comment like that as racist

And she was wrong. Or, at least, didn't the perp need a Polish interpreter?


What's that supposed to mean? Sounds like he was over-working, but the firm's owner didn't want to put it quite like that...


As you do...

The other job must have been a very important one.

But kind of reminds me of more than 20 years ago when the Dundee press used to refer to the local taxi 'fraternity' in articles


Haven't heard that one before. Presumably a variation on motherf*****?

if you have ever been to the country you might realise that people from there do look significantly different to us but I would suggest that is the same for all Balkan countries

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lack of modern legislation is the iceberg sinking the titanic of the transport sector

Emotional scenes in court as CCTV footage shown of fight before taxi driver's death

There were emotional scenes in court when footage was shown of the fight which left popular taxi driver and devoted family man Anakh Singh dead.

The family of the 59-year-old, who died after an argument over a taxi fare, were in tears in the public gallery as CCTV was played showing Mr Singh’s final moments.

Defendant Tomasz Margol, 36, of Bamford Road, Wolverhampton, on trial for murder, was also seen to be distressed in the dock.

Father-of-two Mr Singh died shortly after allegedly being punched repeatedly by Margol on a sunny Sunday morning last October.

DC Chris Holland took to the stand after painstakingly compiling footage from residential CCTV and dashcam footage of the fight.

Every moment of the fight was caught on camera, from two different angles, one of which was from a property that the altercation took place in front of.

DC Holland told the court Mr Singh could be seen fighting with Margol, before getting a metal grate from his boot and going on the attack after being injured himself.

However, Margol, who was the younger man by more than two decades, got the better of Mr Singh.

He said after knocking his turban off, Margol was shown to repeatedly punch Mr Singh around the head whilst on the floor. The pair then separated before Margol handed the turban back to the Sikh man before asking “are you OK?”

When witnesses and passers-by began to approach Margol he ran away towards a local park. Mr Singh then went to lie down in the back of his taxi, before paramedics arrived when he died shortly afterwards.

DC Holland said: “Mr Margol can be seen punching Mr Singh with a closed fist around the head. He can be seen holding on to Mr Singh’s clothing as he appears to punch him.”

Mr Singh and Margol allegedly began arguing after the taxi waited seven minutes for Margol on Nine Elms Lane, Park Village, Wolverhampton, on Sunday, October 30.

Mr Singh, who had worked for ABC Cars for five years, was a popular family man and a GoFundMe collection by the taxi firm raised more than £10,000 in days.

Margol denies murder. The trial continues.

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IDFIMH

Kind of know what you mean, but just wondering whats other people thought of that kind of thing.

If it was me, and I was giving a statement to police, or whatever, I'd avoid stating any specific nationality unless I was absolutely sure, and unless it was relevant.