March 1, 2007
Night attack leaves cabbie unable to work
By Mark Mudie
A TAXI driver says he feared for his life when four yobs gouged his eyes, knocked him unconscious and robbed him.
Still off work because of resulting eye problems and breathing difficulties, Mohammed Bashir Ahmed now says he worries he will not be able to provide for his wife and their newborn son.
The 27-year-old driver for Road Runners had picked up the three men and a woman from the company's taxi rank in Station Road, Redhill, just before 11.45pm on Saturday, February 17.
The group asked Mr Ahmed, of Radstock Way, Merstham, to take them to Kingswood and Coulsdon.
When Mr Ahmed asked for the £20 fare in advance as per company policy with drunken or suspicious customers, they refused to pay and quickly became aggressive and hurled racial abuse at him.
Story continues
ADVERTISEMENT
Eventually, the girl offered £10 and said she would pay the remaining £10 when they got to Kingswood.
But after setting off, the group repeatedly threatened Mr Ahmed. Fearing for his safety, he turned the taxi round at the Reigate Hill roundabout and explained that he was going to take the group back to Redhill.
The front-seat passenger then hit Mr Ahmed with a Pepsi can, before one of the attackers tried to gouge Mr Ahmed's eyes out.
Mr Ahmed, who is originally from Bangladesh, said: "I was trying to save my eyes. At the same time they were just hitting me and afterwards I could-n't see anything from my right eye and so much blood was coming out of my nose as well."
He was unconscious for five minutes before coming round to discover that his car keys,some money and the taxi's personal computer had been stolen.
Residents from nearby flats in Summer Place spotted the attack and called police and an ambulance, which took Mr Ahmed to East Surrey Hospital. He was there for seven hours before being discharged, but says he is still suffering from headaches and breathing problems.
Mr Ahmed works weekends to pay the bills while he studies an MA in Computing at Westminster College in London so that he can get a better job to secure his family's future.
But he fears he might have to postpone his studies for a year because of his injuries.
"At the moment the problems are mostly at night," he said. "I can't breathe properly. And when I read books I can't concentrate because of the pain and I'm getting too many problems with my eyes.
"I am worried about my future because I have so many responsibilities. If I don't finish my studies I will not be able to look after my family and my life will be miserable."
Mr Ahmed, who moved to Britain five years ago,has been unable to work since the attack.
His wife, Shefa Ahmed, 18, gave birth to their first child, a baby boy,last Thursday and Mr Ahmed does not know how he is going to pay the bills.
He added: "I have not been working, so I don't have a penny to spend. How am I going to look after my son?"
The incident is the latest in several attacks on taxi drivers in the Redhill area, including a screwdriver attack on Malik Akhtar at Earlswood in January.
Road Runners tells drivers to ask for a fare in advance after 11pm if they suspect customers are drunk or acting strangely.
Mr Ahmed said this sometimes caused aggravation but that he had never previously been attacked.
He added: "The last few times I've been out people have been unwilling to pay.
"But these people didn't try to run away,they tried to kill me.I'm just trying to establish my life here and provide for my family."
Muz Hussain, managing director of Road Runners, said there were no plans to change the company policy of asking for money up-front despite the incident - but he says the firm also wants bouncers or designated police officers to help at the taxi rank.
He called for an increased police presence on the streets and has even offered to fund security measures out of his own pocket.
Mr Hussain said: "I am willing to pay for bouncers to come and sort the queues. I have told the police this and we are one day going to have bouncers out there.
"But the police have to take a bit of responsibility for the drunks for the protection of the public as well as our drivers.
"Just a police presence makes a massive difference. We are under a lot of pressure from the police and the council because we are the biggest operators in town.
"There is a lot of pressure to shift drunk people. But if these things keep happening,drivers aren't going to want to go out at night and the situation will only get worse."
A police spokesman said: "Surrey Police is carrying out ongoing high visibility operations in Redhill Town Centre,often using drugs dogs and the mobile custody centre.
"These operations have caught many violent offenders, and brought about good feedback.
"In addition, we are working with our partner organisations to make the environment less welcoming for offenders."
Filed under Blog by admin
