Australian court jails Indian taxi driver for raping passenger
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A 32-year-old Indian taxi driver in Australia has been sentenced to six years in jail after being found guilty of raping a female passenger who was said to be drunk.
Amrit Pal Singh was found guilty by a jury of raping the 24-year-old woman in February last year, ABC reported today.
The victim was said to have gone at a hen's night and was severely intoxicated when Singh picked her up in his taxi. He then drove her to a park in North Lake in Perth's southern suburbs and raped her before taking her home.
The next day the woman had flashbacks of what had happened and reported the matter to police. Singh denied any wrongdoing and maintained he had misinterpreted the woman's friendliness as sexual advances.
However, District Court Judge Gillian Braddock rejected his claims saying it must have been apparent to him that the woman was severely intoxicated.
"She was really in no condition to take care of herself," the judge said, adding "She was entitled to believe she would be treated with care and respect and delivered safely to her address." Braddock described the offences as a 'gross breach of trust'.
"Your conduct may cause some women to fear taking a taxi home when they need to," the judge said. Singh was given six years jail, but he could be released after serving four.
The judge also said that Singh's crime could tarnish the reputations of all honest taxi drivers in Western Australia.
She said Singh, who arrived in Australia from India in 2006, had failed to show remorse for his actions or understand the enormity of his crime.
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