Racist attack on Sheffield taxi driver

Racist attack on Sheffield taxi driver




By Tony Belshaw

A TAXI driver was punched repeatedly in the face by a racist thug who demanded: "Why did you come to my country?"
Muhammed Ejaz Tahir, aged 32, warned "someone could lose their life" after the attack on Penistone Road in Neepsend, Sheffield.

Mr Tahir, from Rotherham, was left with facial injuries including a cut to his nose and a swollen jaw after the unprovoked assault.

He had picked up two young women and a man in his 20s in his black cab, and the group asked him to take them to Owlthorpe and then on to Handsworth.

Mr Tahir asked for a £20 deposit first, but the male passenger turned aggressive and would only offer £10.

"He was a racist," said Mr Tahir. "He began calling me names and saying, 'You shouldn't be here. Why did you come to my country?'

"I asked him to get another cab, but he got out and punched me in the nose. I went to give him his £10 back and he punched me again on the jaw."

Police were called and the man was arrested.

Mr Tahir, who came to Britain from Pakistan in 1992, said he is still suffering flashbacks to the attack.

He said: "We taxi drivers are occasionally assaulted. We sometimes have stones thrown at our cars. Mansfield Road is a particularly bad spot.

Someone could lose their life."


A South Yorkshire Police
spokeswoman said: "Officers are currently investigating an alleged assault on a 32-year-old man, which occurred around 2.30am on Sunday February 24 on Penistone Road in the Neepsend area.

"As a result the 32-year-old sustained facial injuries.

"Police have since arrested a 27-year-old man. He has been released on police bail pending further inquiries."

Anyone with any information about the incident is urged to call Moss Way CID on 0114 2963461 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

nowt will happen yet again theese b....... will get off what a law