AN UNLICENCED taxi driver has been forced ‘toupee’ £900 fine and received eight penalty points on his driving license after he was caught driving a hackney carriage down Oxford Road without a taxi licence or insurance.
“This case should serve as a warning to all unlicensed taxi drivers, our officers are out on the streets and are incredibly vigilant."
Mohammad Abid Ali, 32, from Cheetham Hill, was stopped by officers from the City Council and Greater Manchester Police during routine checks in the city on Saturday 25 May 2013. When questioned by officers Ali gave a false name and a hackney carriage license that did not belong to him.
The licensing officer immediately noticed that the photo on the licence, of an older bald man, bore no resemblance to Ali.
Amazingly, when confronted over the photo discrepancy, Ali baldly claimed that the reason he looked nothing like the photo on the licence was because he had used hair growth products and had undergone a hair transplant procedure using horse hair.
And the reason for the anti-aging process?
An investigation revealed that Ali had previously held a hackney carriage drivers licence, but that a new application had been refused by the council at a hearing he attended on 26 April 2012.
It is thought that Ali has been illegally operating as a taxi driver ever since.
Hackney carriages Spinningfields
Ali was fined £50 for being an unlicenced hackney carriage driver, £80 for driving without insurance and £165 for taking the vehicle without consent. He was then ordered to pay £589 in cost and a victim surcharge of £20 after pleading guilty to all offences at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 6 November 2013.
Councilor Kate Chappell, Manchester City Council executive member for environment, said: “This case should serve as a warning to all unlicenced taxi drivers, our officers are out on the streets and are incredibly vigilant. The consequences for illegally operating any taxi are both serious and costly.
“An unlicenced taxi driver is by definition uninsured and I’d advise everyone using a taxi to check the driver is wearing a council ID badge.”
“Over Christmas and New Year even more people than normal will be enjoying the city centre. While I don’t want to put a dampener on festivities I’d recommend everyone plan ahead, think about how they will get home after celebrating and at the weekends take advantage of our marshalled taxi ranks.”
Of course Ali could appeal, but the odds aren't good. It’s likely that he’d fall at the final hurdle. It’d be like flogging a dead horse. Neigh. Horse. End.
