Man jailed for racist abuse against Cardiff cabbie

The news website, Wales Online posts video footage showing a horrendous rant against a Muslim taxi driver by a passenger who described himself as a  “f***ing massive racist person”.

The passenger who was being driven home late at night can be heard uttering a slew of swear words at the driver telling him “I f***ing hate people like you”.

The offender challenged the driver to a “fight in the park” and told him “If you want to bomb my house you can. Come around and bomb me, I don’t give a f***.”

When the driver asked the man if he was a racist, the passenger replied, “I am f***ing racist, I f***ing hate, I am f***ing racist, I’m a f***ing massive racist person.”

On leaving the cab the passenger repeatedly called the driver a “black c***” and told him to “f*** off”.

Commenting on the footage, Mathab Khan, chairman of Cardiff Hackney Carriages Association, said “Taxi drivers are subjected not only to racism but also to Islamophobia. This is the reality of what is going in Cardiff, but it happens everywhere.”

Wales Online reports that the incident was brought to the attention of South Wales’ Police and Crime Commissioner, Alun Michael. Mr Khan raised the problem of recurring incidents saying “I have explained that the guys are subjected to this and it happens all the time.”

In December 2011, 731 taxi drivers associated with the Cardiff Hackney Carriages Association were ready to walk out on strike in protest over the council and local police force’s failure to respond quickly to the escalating number of attacks against taxi drivers in Cardiff.

At the time, Mr Khan said: “Taxi drivers often ply their trade in conditions which render them vulnerable to abuse. They are alone; their peak working hours are late at night; they are at the whim of those they are transporting and, often, they are outnumbered when violence takes place. The potential strike in Cardiff embodies concerns about all violence in the upcoming Christmas period. But the risks of racist attacks are highest.”

The news site notes that 50 year old Mark Chapman, 50, was arrested during the early hours of March 24 in connection with the incident and pleaded guilty to causing racially aggravated harassment, alarm or distress by using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on April 11.

Chapman was jailed for 95 days and ordered to pay his victim £500 compensation. He was also ordered to pay £85 in court costs and an £80 surcharge to fund victim services.

The high incidence of racist and Islamophobic abuse suffered by taxi drivers has led to some companies installing CCTV cameras in cars to protect drivers and to provide vital evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service in the prosecution of hate crime.

Drivers have also been sharing footage of their encounters with racist and abusive passengers with local media agencies drawing attention to the prevalence of abuse suffered by those working in the night-time economy.