Auckland Ola driver Sajid Mehmood sentenced for inappropriately touching two female customers

Sajid Mehmood appears in the Auckland District Court for sentencing after pleading guilty to indecently assaulting two female customers in his Ola taxi cab. Photo / Alex Burton

An Auckland-based Ola rideshare driver who indecently assaulted two young female customers on separate occasions lost his bid for permanent name suppression today after a judge expressed shock he hasn’t yet told his family or the operators of a religious-based school - whose property he lives on - about the serious sexual nature of the charges.

Sajid Mehmood, 50, stood in the Auckland District Court dock with his head bowed for much of today’s lengthy hearing.

In addition to permanent name suppression, defence lawyer Gul Qaisrani sought a discharge without conviction, arguing that “naming and shaming” him would create four other victims - his wife and children.

Judge Kevin Phillips rejected the argument, noting that Mehmood’s hardship is the result of his offending and his failure to alert those around him earlier.

“People get into these vehicles trusting the drivers,” he said, adding there is a strong public interest in knowing about offending of that nature. “There is a very strong expectation ... that the drivers are trustworthy and responsible.”

The suppression bid was opposed by police prosecutor Alva Tohovaka-Staples, the Herald, Stuff and TVNZ. It was also strongly opposed by one of his victims, who didn’t appear in person today but submitted an emotional victim impact statement that was read aloud to the judge.

”His disgusting actions have affected every part of my life,” the woman wrote. “I did not ask for this. I did not deserve this. And I will not stand for this.

“I should have been safe. His passengers should have been safe.”

The woman said she now can’t shake the feeling of vulnerability and she attends weekly therapy sessions. She initially didn’t want to go to police, which she said would have been the easy route.

”What would be the point of that if he returns back to the same position of power?” she asked, noting Mehmood’s initial intention - now abandoned - to return to being a rideshare driver if not named or convicted. “For my safety and the safety of others, I strongly oppose his requests.”

She also expressed concern for young members of the mosque where he lives and for students at the school on the same grounds.

Police alleged Mehmood victimised a 19-year-old woman and a 33-year-old in two separate incidents that happened on New Year’s Eve 2021 and 10 days later in January 2022. He picked up each of the women in his Toyota Prius after they hailed a cab via Ola, a mobile phone app that directly competes with Uber.

He picked up the first woman in College Hill near Auckland’s Victoria Park at around 12.30am on December 31, 2021, and opened the front door, encouraging her to sit in the front seat, court documents state. She declined due to Covid-19 safety precautions even though he continued to request she do so, documents state.

“The defendant then said, ‘You look very nice,’ and, ‘Nice perfume’,” according to the agreed summary of facts for the case. “Feeling uncomfortable at the comments being made, the victim began recording live Instagram posts.”

As the woman tried to leave the car upon reaching her destination, she said Mehmood reached for her hand through the front seats and wished her a happy new year. He then used the handshake as an opportunity to pull her towards him as he asked, “Can I?”

“No,” she said as she closed the door and ran to her waiting partner.

As she was telling him what happened, Mehmood waved at them both and drove away, court documents state.

The second victim got into the front seat of his vehicle after he picked her up in Ponsonby at around 4am on January 10. As the two made small talk, Mehmood suggested her skirt looked similar to garments worn in his native Pakistan and placed his hand on her knee “under the pretense of touching the fabric”.

“The defendant then moved his hand further up her leg, touching her on the upper thigh and then hip,” court documents state. “The defendant left his hands there a few seconds before removing it.”

The victim tried to appear disinterested to discourage him. Mehmood shook her hand and left, wishing her a happy new year, after arriving at the destination.

Judge Kevin Phillips at Auckland District Court for the sentencing of former Ola driver Sajid Mehmood. Photo / Alex Burton

Indecent assault carries a maximum sentence of up to seven years’ imprisonment. However, Judge Phillips agreed with the defence that a custodial sentence wasn’t necessary when taking into account his guilty plea, the 40 hours of community service he has already completed and it being his first offence.

He ordered him to instead complete 200 hours of community service and to pay emotional harm restitution of $750 to each victim.

Qaisrani told the judge today that his client’s having hidden the offending from those around him was a showing of his remorse and shame. The judge, however, said he interpreted it as a sign the driver was more sorry about his own situation than the trauma he caused his victims.

“Your remorse, to me, is entirely questionable,” Judge Phillips responded, describing his two accusers as having been in particularly vulnerable situations.

“It has majorly impacted upon their feelings of safety ... and trust of rideshare drivers.”

But the point the judge kept going back to was the “totally unreal situation” in which Mehmood “attempted to keep all these matters up your sleeve” - not alerting his family, his mosque and the school staff, students and teachers.

“I am most concerned about is none of those people know anything about these charges,” he said. “You should have spoken to [them].”

Craig Kapitan is an Auckland-based journalist covering courts and justice. He joined the Herald in 2021 and has reported on courts since 2002 in three newsrooms in the US and New Zealand.