A taxi driver slapped and spat on a frightened female passenger he was supposed to be taking home, a court heard.
Hackney cab driver Hamzeh Karimi had picked-up a woman and her two friends in Newcastle when an argument broke out as he drove.
The 31-year-old then pulled over on Jesmond Road, Newcastle, before turning around and heading back to the city centre.
However, as one of the frightened girls tried to open a door, Karimi spat in the woman’s face and slapped her a number of times with his left hand.
The shocked women then all got out of the cab before Karimi drove-off.
But, the rogue cabbie was caught when the girls noted down his registration number and reported him to the police.
Karimi, of Wardroper House, Walker, denied one count of assault at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court but was found guilty after trial earlier this year.
He also denied a further charge of assault, relating to a separate incident just six months later when he attacked a fellow taxi driver, leaving his victim with a “puncture-like” wound to the back of the head.
Reading the facts of the of the first assault, which happened on March 9 last year, District Judge Stephen Earl said: “The defendant, a taxi driver, picks up three females and is asked to take them on a journey.
“During the journey, he repeatedly didn’t trust that they had the means to pay him.
“A verbal argument took place in the car and the defendant stopped the vehicle on Jesmond Road and told them to get out, demanding the fare to that point.
“The females ask for his name and badge number and refused to get out, saying they would not pay any money until he took them home.
“The defendant then began taking them back to the city centre. The girls were very frightened and they tried to open the door to get the defendant to stop.
“He stopped and one female got out. The defendant is then heard making a rasping sound and spat in the woman’s face. He then grabbed her wrist and used his left hand to slap her face a few times.
“He then spat towards another of the women but missed. Both the other women then also get out and say they are going to phone the police.
“The defendant then drives off but the girls take down his registration, which they give to the police.”
The court heard that, just six months later and while on bail for the first assault, Karimi attacked a fellow cabbie=.
Sue Baker, prosecuting, said that offence happened while the pair were both in a taxi que on Hood Street, in Newcastle, on September 1.
She said: “There has been a long-running feud between the defendant and Mr Maroof and it’s unclear who became aggressive first.
“PC Hill witnessed Mr Maroof crouched over with the defendant punching him to the back of the head.”
The court heard that Mr Maroof suffered a puncture wound to his head as a result of the attack.
Karimi had denied both offences but was found guilty after two separate trials.
Giving him an 18-week prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, District Judge Earl said: “This involves an assault against a member of public who is vulnerable and, in a sense, it is an abuse of trust.
“You were a licenced taxi driver when you assaulted a member of the public being conveyed in your taxi. As a result, you must expect to be dealt with in the custody bracket,”
Karimi, representing himself, still denied the assaults and claimed both the woman and other taxi driver were lying.
As well as the suspended sentence, Karimi was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and to pay a total of £300 compensation and £400 costs.
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