Two Uninsured Out of Town Taxi Drivers Prosecuted
A TAXI driver has been fined £1,350 and ordered to pay £1,224 costs after being convicted of illegally plying for hire, no insurance and supplying false information to licensing officers.
Arshid Mahmood, of Henry Street, Katesgrove, appeared at Reading Magistrates court on Friday 11th November on charges brought by Reading Borough Council.
The 62-year-old was fined £350 for plying for hire in King’s Road, Reading on Sunday 15th May and £500 for each count of using a false instrument, in which Mr Mahmood provided licensing officers with a handheld computer and a mobile phone containing false booking information.
He also received six penalty points on his licence for having no insurance, but did not receive a separate fine, and was ordered to pay full court costs of £1,224 and a £50 victim surcharge.
On the same day, hackney carriage driver Mohammed Orangzaid, of Lundy Lane, west Reading, appeared at Reading Magistrates court for driving without insurance and plying for hire in Tessa Road, Reading, on Saturday 14th May.
The 28-year-old was fined £200 for failing to have insurance and had six penalty points imposed on his licence. There was no separate penalty for plying for hire but Orangzaid was ordered to pay £200 costs.
Both men were hackney carriage drivers licensed in South Oxfordshire which disallows them from plying for hire in Reading borough or anywhere else outside their district. They both admitted the offences.
Councillor Paul Gittings, Reading’s Lead Councillor for Consumer Services, said:
“Well done to the council’s licensing officers for pursuing these cases and working with our legal team to secure a successful prosecution against these drivers.
“It sends a clear message that the council takes a strong stance against unlicensed drivers plying for hire in the borough and we will not hesitate to take tough action against them.”
