Community work follows passenger's racist tirade

A woman has been convicted of racially abusing a taxi driver then trying to run off with his vehicle.

A Napier woman has been convicted after hurling racial abuse at a taxi driver before assaulting him and attempting to take off in his car.

April Natasha Waihape, 34, appeared in Napier District Court yesterday where she pleaded guilty to a charge of common assault in relation to the September 12 incident.

Her victim, who spoke to Hawke's Bay Today after the court appearance, said the attack was targeted.

"I was abused because of my race and my religion.

"I will get over it but these sorts of incidents need to be stopped.

"We [taxi drivers] are part of the community and people need to know they can't get away with this sort of thing," he said.

The man, who did not wish to be named, was called to an address about 8pm where he collected three women, including Waihape.

A court summary of facts showed he was "bombarded" with racial insults from Waihape who was sitting in the back seat.

"The victim ignored the tirade of racial insults but later found himself on the receiving end of a series of punches and slaps to the back of his head and shoulders," it said.

Waihape continued to hit and slap the driver until he managed to free himself from the taxi, at which point she leapt into the driver's seat of the car and tried to take off.

The driver said he reached in and tried to remove the keys, but was assaulted again.

Waihape then got out of the vehicle and chased the driver.

"She was chasing me all over the streets, trying to hit me, trying to take my car.

"I've experienced things similar to this in the past but never this bad, this was a really bad one," the taxi driver said.

In court yesterday Waihape admitted the offending.

Judge Patrick Treston told her that taxi drivers should be able to ply their trade without abuse from members of the public.

He convicted Waihape and sentenced her to 100 hours community work.

The driver said he was happy with the outcome.

Wayne England, his employer and manager of Hawke's Bay Combined Taxis, said incidents like this were rare.

"The cameras have been a big help in reducing this sort of thing," Mr England said.

"If people do become a bit bolshie the drivers can just politely remind them that they are being filmed and that often calms the situation down."

He said this particular taxi would have been fitted with a camera when the roll-out began around two years ago.

"Hawke's Bay has always been pretty good," Mr England said.

"The police have been really supportive, they download the footage and go out looking for these guys."

In July, Invercargill man Gregory Shuttleworth was given a formal warning by police after he racially abused Pakistani taxi driver Tariq Humayun after a night out.

Mr Humayun recorded their conversation on video, which was posted on the internet.