Private Hire driver who pretended to be a woman to avoid traffic penalties jailed for 13 months
A private-hire driver who used women’s names to avoid traffic penalties has been jailed for 13 months.
Toussaint Badia, 43, claimed that women called Beryl and Nina were at the wheel after police sent him letters asking who had been driving at the time of a number of motoring offences.
A court heard how he filled out false details on six occasions – claiming the women lived in Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo.
By the time company timesheets revealed that he had been driving all along, he had escaped prosecution for speeding in Ancoats, Cheetham Hill, Harpurhey, Miles Platting and Blackley, as well as jumping a red light in Withington.
In police interviews, Badia tried to talk his way out of it, claiming that ‘Beryl’ and ‘Nina’ had taken his car without his consent.
He later admitted six counts of perverting the course of justice.
Badia’s defence lawyer David Thompson told Manchester Crown Court that it would serve the public better if his client, the family breadwinner, was spared jail rather than leave his wife and four children dependent on benefits.
Mr Thompson added: “He deeply regrets his actions. It was fear of losing employment which led an otherwise law-abiding man to effectively break the law and land himself in court.”
But Recorder Richard Marks QC, sentencing, said the offences stuck at the heart of the system and decided to jail Badia, of The Links, New Moston.
He added: “These types of offences are very serious, they are prevalent, they are easy to commit and they strike at the very heart of the administration of justice.”
Describing a community punishment as ‘wholly unrealistic’, the recorder added: “The matter can only be dealt with by an immediate sentence of
imprisonment.
“I regret the hardship this will undoubtedly cause to your family but that is something you have thought about at the time.”
The court heard that in 2006, the licensing authority allowed Badia to carry on in the private hire business after racking up 15 points for having no insurance, speeding and jumping two red lights.
Sgt Mark Beales, of the Road Crime Unit, said: “Drivers of 'taxis' are professional individuals who have an obligation to themselves and their passengers to obey the speed limit, otherwise they could put their passengers at risk.
“I hope this sentence sends a clear message to other professional drivers who may consider this type of criminal behaviour.”
source:
http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/
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