Driver jailed and banned for dodging tickets
A taxi driver has been jailed for a year after asking a friend to help him dodge four speeding tickets.
Dad-of-five Nisar Alam set off cameras during late-night trips in Kirk Hallam and around the Shipley View estate, Ilkeston, a court heard.
When police wrote to him, he feared a six-month ban so persuaded a friend to take the blame and even gave him the location of the cameras.
But Alam’s plot came unstuck when he asked an Ilkeston taxi firm boss to alter drivers’ records, Derby Crown Court heard.
Instead of agreeing, the manager alerted police.
As the owner of the speeding vehicle, papers were sent to Alam’s home in Clarence Road, Derby. He ordered his wife to send them back to police, saying the driver was Polish builder Zbigniew Matyna, 46, of Balaclava Road, Derby.
The pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pervert the course of justice. Matyna was given a six-month prison term, suspended for a year.
Recorder Ciaran Rankin told Alam: “What you did in this case was a very clumsy, deliberate and thoroughly dishonest attempt to undermine the whole process of justice.”
He said Alam appeared to have lied to the licensing committee of Erewash Borough Council, which deals with taxis.
Sarah Allen, prosecuting, said Alam already had penalty points on his licence and felt the speeding convictions would lead to a ban.
Alam contacted John Richardson, who runs Ilkeston-based Avenger Taxis, asking him to alter his drivers’ records.
“Mr Richardson refused the request and made a statement to the police,” she added.
Christopher Gabbitas, for Alam, said: “It is quite clear that these are actions of a desperate man.
“As a taxi driver for 25 years, he realised that being caught speeding meant his livelihood would be taken from him.”
Alam, 42, was banned from driving for two years.
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Sunday 19 May 2013
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