Taxi Driver Online

Taxi driver used prisoner's identity to try and dodge speed cameras

A SPEEDING taxi driver said another man was behind the wheel – but that man was in prison. Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday that Rafaqat Ali’s car set off speed cameras five times between January 6 and March 14.

Notices of intended prosecution were sent to Ali at his Ravensthorpe home. But they but were returned with the information that the driver at the time was a John Ralph.

Mehran Nassiri, prosecuting, said Ralph contacted the court to say he could not have been the driver as he was in prison. Ali told police he had been worried about losing his livelihood and had passed on his notices to another person to “sort it out”.

It also emerged that Ali had returned other notices of prosecution five earlier times and had escaped prosecution when cameras were set off. Ali’s lawyer, Tim Stead, said Ali was a hard-working family man. He had not been in trouble before and had not realised the seriousness of his actions.

Ali, 31, of Clarkson Street, admitted intending to pervert the course of justice and five speeding offences. He was given a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, with 100 hours community work. He was also banned from driving for a year.

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