iStockA Glasgow takeaway worker who punched a delivery driver has lost his bid to secure a private hire car licence.
Sherali Ahmadzai wanted to work as a private hire driver in the city, but Police Scotland objected due to a conviction for assault.
An officer told Glasgow’s licensing committee how Mr Ahmadzai had punched a man “in the head several times”. He also slammed a car door against his leg, she said.
Councillors heard how the applicant, who was working in a fast food restaurant, had been mopping the floor and asked the man to wait outside.
Mr Ahmadzai then “began shouting aggressively” and chased the man to his car, the officer said.
“His leg got caught in the door, which the applicant proceeded to slam against his leg and then punched him in the head several times,” she added. “An unknown male passer-by then pulled the applicant away.”
The applicant was fined £135 after the incident, which happened in September last year. He told the committee that he had only pushed the man, who he said was a delivery driver.
Mr Ahmadzai, 25, said the man started “shouting and swearing towards me” when he was asked to wait outside. “I take full responsibility for the mistake,” he added.
Cllr Alex Wilson, SNP, who chairs the licensing committee, said: “When it comes down to being a private hire car driver, you can get all sorts of abuse.
“You will get shouted at, you will get comments made about you, you will get people trying to skip a fare, you will get other drivers causing issues on the road.
“How do you possibly demonstrate you are able to do that when you reacted to someone who came into your shop as a delivery driver, started shouting at you a wee bit, and then you assaulted him?”
A Glasgow takeaway worker who punched a delivery driver has lost his bid to secure a private hire car licence.
Sherali Ahmadzai wanted to work as a private hire driver in the city, but Police Scotland objected due to a conviction for assault.
An officer told Glasgow’s licensing committee how Mr Ahmadzai had punched a man “in the head several times”. He also slammed a car door against his leg, she said.
Councillors heard how the applicant, who was working in a fast food restaurant, had been mopping the floor and asked the man to wait outside.
Mr Ahmadzai then “began shouting aggressively” and chased the man to his car, the officer said.
“His leg got caught in the door which the applicant proceeded to slam against his leg and then punched him in the head several times,” she added. “An unknown male passer-by then pulled the applicant away.”
The applicant was fined £135 after the incident, which happened in September last year. He told the committee that he had only pushed the man, who he said was a delivery driver.
Mr Ahmadzai, 25, said the man started “shouting and swearing towards me” when he was asked to wait outside. “I take full responsibility for the mistake,” he added.
Cllr Alex Wilson, SNP, who chairs the licensing committee, said: “When it comes down to being a private hire car driver, you can get all sorts of abuse.
“You will get shouted at, you will get comments made about you, you will get people trying to skip a fare, you will get other drivers causing issues on the road.
“How do you possibly demonstrate you are able to do that when you reacted to someone who came into your shop as a delivery driver, started shouting at you a wee bit, and then you assaulted him?”
The committee decided to reject the licence application.
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