Private hire driver convicted of assault keeps Glasgow licence

Hammad Zafar admitted assaulting a woman after a struggle over a mobile phone caused her to fall to the ground.

He had also been fined for failing to stop at a red light in a separate incident.

Police concerns

Police Scotland objected to his application to Glasgow City Council to renew his licence for three years.

But licensing chiefs decided to extend Mr Zafar’s licence for a restricted one-year period and issued the driver with a severe warning over his future conduct.

A police representative said the force believed Mr Zafar was no longer a “fit and proper person” to hold a licence.

He said the driver was convicted of assault to injury with a domestic aggravation in October 2019 after he seized a woman’s bag “struggled violently with her and caused her to fall to the ground”.

Mr Zafar was given a community payback order and a non-harassment order for three years, which prevents him from contacting the victim.

Gary Miller, representing the driver, said: “In his defence, this man has held a private hire taxi licence since 2009.

“During this time, and especially just following the conviction in October 2019, he has continued to operate without any complaints or adverse reports whatsoever.”

What did the councillors say?

Cllr Alex Wilson, who chairs the committee, said: “This is a serious conviction.

“We need to make sure that when any person gets in his vehicle, he is not going to repeat this kind of behaviour.”

In response, Mr Miller said: “This is just purely by way of factual background and must not be construed as any attempt by me to minimise the offence or the seriousness.

“Even though it’s an assault, this offence, as I understand, was a physical struggle for a phone in a bag, as a result of the physical mechanics of the struggle, the complainer fell to the ground.

“It’s technically an assault, it wasn’t an actual physical attack with hands or feet.”

He added: “It was his property, it was being kept from him and he didn’t act in the right way in retrieving it.”

Mr Zafar was stopped by police on October 29, 2019, in Glasgow after he failed “to stop and comply with a red traffic light”.

He was offered a fixed penalty but refused and was later fined £150. His licence was endorsed with three penalty points.

Mr Miller said: “My information in relation to this offence is that there was a dispute with the police at the scene over whether the light was red or amber and that was the reason for refusing the fixed penalty notice.

“However, on taking legal advice, Mr Zafar subsequently pleaded guilty to the offence.”