Chef must pay �500 to cabbie he drunkenly attacked

A CHEF has been ordered to pay a taxi driver �500 compensation after assaulting him in his car.

Eklashi Hussain's thumb was broken in the drunken and unprovoked attack last June.

Nottingham Crown Court heard that Mr Hussain was sitting in his taxi in St Peter's Street, Radford, at around 8.30pm, when Mohammed Khalid got in and asked to be taken to Gregory Boulevard.

Mr Hussain told the father-of-four he could not drive him there because he was waiting for someone else.

But Khalid said he would not get out until he had been taken to Gregory Boulevard.

The 32-year-old punched Mr Hussain in the face and slapped him. And as he left the taxi, he kicked Mr Hussain on the side of his forehead.

Mr Hussain got out to shut one of the doors and was punched again in the face.

He suffered scratches and grazing to his forehead and needed time off work.

The court heard it was not clear how Mr Hussain's thumb was broken during the attack.

Judge Michael Stokes QC gave Khalid a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered him to do 100 hours of unpaid work, after he admitted assault causing actual bodily harm.

The judge said: "This is a serious matter because it involved an assault on a taxi driver at night when he was going about his business and providing a service to members of the public."

Jim Metcalf, prosecuting, said: "It cannot be said for certain when the injury to his thumb was sustained but he accepts he caused the injuries to the complainant's face.

"It appears to have been an incident which was caused by the fact the defendant was drunk and could not get a ride in a taxi."

Khalid, of Bridlington Street, Hyson Green, who had no previous convictions for offences for violence, works as a chef in a takeaway and is the breadwinner for his family. His four children are all under the age of ten.

Simon Eckersley, in mitigation, said: "He isn't someone who goes out regularly and commits offences of violence and public disorder."

Source: http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32715/f/503354/s/138853e0/l/0L0Sthisisnottingham0O0Cnews0CChef0Epay0E1630E50A0A0Ecabbie0Eassaulted0Carticle0E335410A20Edetail0Carticle0Bhtml/story01.htm

Kanye West Virginia Scotland Weekend breaks Employment law Christmas markets