Man Raped by Taxi Driver in Salford

Greater Manchester Police have issued the following appeal after a taxi driver raped his male passenger in Salford, Greater Manchester:

Police are hunting a taxi driver who raped a 20-year-old man after offering him a lift.

At about 6am on Sunday 21 June 2009, the victim was walking home after spending a night out in the city centre.

He was on Quay Street near the junction with Water Street when a silver VW Passatt private hire car, with a taxi sign roof light, pulled up alongside and the driver offered to give the man a lift home.

The victim accepted the lift and he was taken to his block of flats on The Quays, Salford. The victim tried to pay for the journey but the driver wouldn't take the money.

He went into the block and waited for the lift. While there the taxi driver grabbed him and raped him in the stairwell of the building.

The victim was left terrified by his ordeal, but he managed to give a detailed description of his attacker.

He is described as in his late 20s or early 30s, dark skinned, possibly Asian, and of middle eastern or Iraqi appearance. He was about 5ft 9in tall and slightly overweight with short brown or black hair and unshaven with a beard and brown eyes. He also wore a brown leather jacket and a dark green jumper.

This got me thinking - in November 2008, a BBC radio announcer was sacked and branded a racist after she called a cab for her 14 year old daughter (who would be travelling unaccompanied) and specifically requested a driver who wasn't 'Asian'.

The operator branded her request racist and initially refused, insisting she could not penalise the Asian drivers. Later, a manager phoned back and accepted the booking.

The announcer, Sam Mason, was sacked after a recording of this conversation was sent to The Sun newspaper. The BBC said:

'Although Sam Mason's remarks were not made on-air, her comments were completely unacceptable and, for that reason, she has been informed that she will no longer be working for the BBC with immediate effect.'

Were they unacceptable?

The story above proves that even a lone male passenger cannot necessarily defend himself from a determined assailant.

Whilst obviously not all taxi driver rapists in Britain are 'Asian', the news suggests a fair proportion are - and they seem to be overwhelmingly Muslim.

The Opinionator has the following list, which is not comprehensive:

Abul Malik. 29. raped 19 yr. old female student - he was angry she didn't have all the fare money - Oct 2008

Salam Rahman, 27, and his friend, 26-year-old Mohammed Elahi - along with two other men - gang raped two woman - a newlywed and a city worker - Aug 2002 (Police said after the case that they feared these were not isolated cases and appealed for any woman who may have suffered a similar attack to come forward.)

Assadullah Razaq, 31, raped 28 yr. old secretary - Mar 2003

Mohanid Al obaydi, raped 22 yr old woman (was found guilty), Apr 2005

Ghulam Haider, 49, brutally raped 16 yr old girl, Aug 2006

Murtaza Mateen, aged 47, lured 42 year old woman into his taxi & raped her, Jan 2007

Shahjahan Islam, 27, linked by DNA to attempted rape of lone young woman, Nov 2008

Rami Kayyali, 26, found guilty of raping young woman, Nov 2008

Asian - bogus taxi driver, in his mid-20s, wanted for attempted rape of 18 yr. old girl, Mar 2008

Asian male, aged in his late 20s or early 30s, wanted for brutal rape of 24 yr old woman, Aug 2008

Asian "taxi driver", in his 40s, sought in rape of teenager, Nov 2008

As I say, this is not a comprehensive list, nor is it an effort to pretend that all taxi driver rapists are Muslim, or all Muslim taxi drivers are rapists.

But the list does show that Mason had some cause for concern - especially when one takes into account the cases that go unreported by the victim or unremarked upon by the media.

In spite of this, the BBC still sacked her for dissent from the 'happy multicultural society with no problems' company line.

It seems the price we pay for such a society is in reality a very steep one - and as today's story shows, no one is necessarily immune from the consequences.