Leamington Uber driver was viciously assaulted after he picked up “rude, arrogant and offensive” couple in the town
A Leamington Uber driver says he wants to highlight the dangers he and other taxi drivers face after he was assaulted by a man who he was providing transport to.
Mohammad Hamza Malik had picked up a couple, who he has described as “a young British man and his girlfriend” in Leamington on Friday night (October 18) at about 9pm.
He said: “From the moment they got into the car, they were rude and arrogant.
"A few minutes into the ride, the man began making inappropriate and offensive comments, which I chose to ignore.
“About five minutes before their drop-off, the man asked me to take them to a different location than the one they had originally entered in the Uber app.
"I explained to him that I could only drop them at the pinned location or if they updated the destination in the app.
“At this point, the man became verbally abusive and started swearing at me.
"I remained quiet for a while but eventually told him that he was being disrespectful and asked him not to swear at me.
"Instead of calming down, he became aggressive.
"I decided to stop the car and informed him that I was ending the ride, asking them to leave the vehicle.
"However, the man refused to get out.
"Suddenly, the man snatched my phone, which I was using to run the Uber app, and both he and his girlfriend exited the car.
"I repeatedly asked him to return my phone, but he ignored me and started walking away down another street.
"I followed them in my car, politely asking for my phone back.
“Without warning, the man turned around and punched me four times in the face, hitting my nose and causing it to bleed.
"In the midst of this, I reversed my car and called the police, informing them that I was being assaulted.
"While I was on the phone with the police, the man attempted to attack me again, but I managed to avoid further injury.”
“Afterwards, the couple fled into the streets just as the police arrived on the scene.”
Mohammad has since given a statement to the police and contacted his employer, Uber.
He said his taxi is in the garage for repairs, which were caused while he was reversing during the incident when his attacker grabbed the steering wheel.
He also has dashcam footage of the couple, which he hopes will help the police to identify them.
Uber’s policy in regard to working with the police to report crime states: “At Uber, safety is a top priority.
"We report allegations of certain criminal offences, including details of the person making the report, to the police.
"We do this in the interests of rider and driver safety, and this is sometimes necessary in order for us to comply with licensing conditions which require us to proactively report such allegations.
"This all helps to keep our users safe.”
Warwickshire Police are investigating the incident.
A police spokesman said: “At approximately 9:30pm on Friday 18 October, officers were called to reports of a man being assaulted by a male and female on Oakridge Road in Leamington.
“The victim had reportedly been called to provide transport to the two suspects, who following the assault fled the scene before police arrival.
“If anyone witnessed what happened or has information that could help with our investigation, contact us citing Incident 364 of 18 October.”
Call 101 or visit https://www.warwickshire.police.uk/ro/r ... t-a-crime/
