Taxi Driver Online

EVENING CHRONICLE (Newcastle, UK)

August 11, 2006 Friday

HEADLINE: Taxi driver cleared of assaulting passenger

BYLINE: By Adam Jupp, The Evening Chronicle

A cabbie spoke of his relief after he was cleared of sexually assaulting a passenger.

Rajan Singh, 29, of Windsor Avenue, Gateshead, is now back on the roads after his ordeal ended. Singh was accused of locking a female in his taxi and attacking her. The Hackney Carriage driver was suspended by Newcastle City Council until he stood trial at the city's crown court.

Now, a jury has found him not guilty of the offence and he is free to get back on the roads.

Mr Singh said: "The whole episode has been a living hell for myself, my family and friends. "My family and friends have been very supportive of me and never doubted that I would be found not guilty. "I knew myself that the truth would come out in the end."

The alleged attack took place on May 3 last year, and on November 11, Northumbria Police told licensing bosses that Singh had been arrested a month earlier. On February 2, Mr Singh was sent a letter by the council's head of public health and environmental protection Stephen Savage, telling him his licence had been suspended.

But Singh lodged an appeal against the suspension and a court hearing was arranged. JPs in Gosforth rejected the application and took him off the roads. But he appealed again, meaning he was allowed to carry on driving again. Now, his ordeal is over and he can work with his reputation intact.

At Mr Singh's taxi hearing in March, Asa Anderson, for the city council, said: "This court has to consider, in light of the charge of sexual assault, whether he remains a "fit and proper person" to hold a licence, and whether the suspension of his licence, as a result, should be upheld by this court.

"It is of crucial importance to remember this court is not here to determine the guilt or innocence of Mr Singh in respect of the sexual assault matter.

"The question this court has to determine is whether the council had `reasonable cause' to suspend Mr Singh's licence in light of him being charged with the offence of sexual assault."
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