Source: gair rhydd by Alice Collins Issue 917
A second year Cardiff University student claims that a taxi driver made sexually inappropriate comments towards her during a journey home after a night out.
The female student was picked up from Miskin Street by a local taxi company in the early hours Sunday morning two weeks ago.
“I usually don’t mind catching taxis by myself and I’d been chatting with the driver in question for the majority of the journey. But when we drew closer to my house, he asked whether I’d ever had sex. I avoided the question, but he persisted and told me that I should experience everything life had to offer, I was pretty creeped out.
“I felt extremely uncomfortable and asked him to stop and let me out. Luckily I wasn’t too far from home and I made sure that I had my correct money ready so that I could make a swift exit when he stopped.”
The student now refuses to travel alone in taxis and says the experience has left her feeling incredibly “nervy”. Her relieved friend said, “I’m just so glad that she was close to home. If she hadn’t been able to get out of the taxi when she did, who knows what might have happened to her.”
The claims come as ex-Capital Cabs driver, Adam Rahman, is on trial for two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent exposure against two women who travelled in his taxi in May 2009, both of whom were students at South Wales universities.
The 39-year-old married man says that he recalls picking up his first accuser at the University of Glamorgan after dropping off five other students from a night out in Cardiff.
He stated that she was a nice girl and that he had obtained the girl’s mobile number because she had asked him if he would give her and her friends a lift when they were next in Cardiff.
The student said: “He started by asking me about my course, then said ‘Have you been with a black man before?’ He also asked me if any of my friends had had a black man and did I want to be with a black man. He put his hand on my leg and when I moved it away, grabbed my wrist and took my hand over to him.
“He was making my hand rub against him then he put his hand right between my legs.”
The prosecution also claim that Rahman attempted to assault another student a few days later whilst taking a pair of girls home from a party in Canton.
He dropped the first girl in Cathays before travelling over the Gabalfa flyover, where Rahman allegedly started rubbing the other girl’s leg.
Prosecutor Michael Jones said: “He asked her if she wanted to go to a hotel then exposed himself and asked her to touch him. He grabbed hold of her hand and pulled it towards him and she felt sick and scared.”
A spokesperson for a local taxi company said: “All taxi drivers are heavily licensed by Cardiff County Council and CRB checked to ensure that they are a fit and proper person.”
The Union’s Welfare Officer, Edward Dolding, said: “I was deeply disturbed by these reports, especially since the incidents happened in Cardiff, one of the safest student cities in the UK.
“My advice for students heading home in a taxi late at night is to, wherever possible, travel home with a friend, particularly if you’ve had a couple to drink. If you have to travel alone, make sure you only get in a black cab or a licensed mini cab. Type the registration number into your phone and keep it close at hand.
“Concentrate on the route your driver is taking and if it looks suspect, question him on it and don’t feel afraid to ask to be let out in a well lit area. Don’t feel embarrassed about doing this – authentic taxi drivers will understand their passengers’ worries and will be happy to let you out at a safe place.”
The court case was still ongoing as gair rhydd went to print.
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