Banbury taxi driver 'failed to disclose driving death'
- Published
Ifraan Mahmood was fined £500 for fraud by false representation at Oxford Magistrates' Court
A taxi driver has been convicted of fraud after he failed to declare a conviction of causing death by careless driving on his licence application.
Oxford Magistrates' Court heard Ifraan Mahmood, 30, "ticked no" to previous convictions on a Cherwell District Council licence application form.
Mahmood had been sentenced in 2010 when he hit a man with his car and killed him.
Magistrate Nicola Moeran said Mahmood answered the form "dishonestly".
Despite Mahmood's previous convictions being revealed on a disclosing and barring service (DBS) certificate, the father of two was granted a council licence "straight away".
Christine Pegler, a licence enforcement officer, could not answer why the licence was granted, but said had the council known his offences, it would have been refused.
The court heard the council investigated Mahmood's application after a police officer made a complaint in January.
Ms Pegler said she questioned a staff member who dealt with Mahmood's DBS check but the employee "had no recollection".
'Clearly ticked no'
The court heard Mahmood failed a "knowledge test" to gain a taxi licence in 2016.
The defendant, of Byron Road, Banbury, said his previous convictions had been "all disclosed" on his 2016 application, so he left the boxes "blank" when he reapplied in 2018, because "he could not remember the dates the offences took place".
He said he was told by a council officer they would update his new application with the convictions from his previous one.
He said: "All my offences were on the first application. I wanted to get it off the first application. I cannot lie, because it will come back to you with DBS checks."
Prosecuting, Richard Atkins said the defendant left an application meeting "with a form that said you had no previous convictions" and also left a form with a council officer "that was completed, that you had no convictions at all".
Fining the defendant £500, Mrs Moeran said Mahmood "very clearly...ticked no" to any previous convictions on the application he made in 2018 and had been "dishonest".