Two men sentenced for Boxing Day assault on Asian taxi driver

The Bromsgrove Advertiser reports on the sentencing of two men who brutally assaulted an Asian taxi driver on Boxing Day last year.

At Worcester Crown Court this week, Rhys Lakin, 21 and Brandon Newman, 19, were sentenced after pleading guilty to racially aggravated assault and common assault respectively. A third man who was involved has not been identified.

The court heard that on Boxing Day last year, the two men walked past taxi driver Nadeem Naz who was outside the White Hart Inn in Redditch at about 10.30pm. Lakin is said to have verbally abused Naz saying “we’re going to do you, we’re from the EDL.”

When Naz retreated to his taxi for protection, the two men started kicking the door at punching at the window before Lakin opened the door and pulled Naz out.

The court heard that Lakin and Newman punched Naz repeatedly and when he tried to shield himself with his hands, Lakin stomped on him.

Judge Abbas Mithani, QC, sentencing the two men said, “This was gratuitous violence and he was singled out because of his colour.”

“Any type of behaviour that results in a person being attacked because of race or religion is utterly unacceptable. It rightly generates a considerable amount of revulsion among the public.”

Lakin was given 30 weeks immediate custody in a young offenders institution. Newman was given a sentence of nine weeks suspended for two years with supervision for 12 months and 10 sessions of the reducing violence programme. Newman was also ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work.