Taxi driver on trial for indecent assault asked woman if they could 'smoke drugs'

Jameed Hameedi has denied a charge of indecent assault.

A woman has described how a taxi driver locked her in his cab, forced himself on her and when she got out he pressed her up against the door and felt her up.

Javeed Hameedi, 40, is on trial at the Auckland District Court for allegedly indecently assaulting an 18-year-old woman heading home after a night out celebrating her birthday.

The woman told the court the taxi driver picked her up about 2am near the Roxy nightclub on Fort St where she had been partying with friends last November.

She wanted to go home because she felt sick and asked Hameedi, through the car window if he would take her to St John for $20 because that was all she had.

Hameedi agreed. The woman sat in the front seat and noticed he'd put something over his identification tag but didn't think anything of it.

But she said within two minutes of the journey he started asking "strange and uncomfortable questions".

"[He said] you look like a Russian girl, I like your smile, do you have a boyfriend, do you do drugs. He just wanted to know everything."

The woman told him she smoked marijuana and he tried to invite himself into her house so they "could smoke drugs".

She'd just celebrated her 18th birthday the day before and he allegedly told her: "You need to experience new things, do new things".

When they pulled up to her house, he locked the doors, took off his seat belt, leaned over and pushed her seat back.

"He went over to hug me, I pulled away, but he came back."

The woman described how Hameedi allegedly tried to kiss her face and chest while feeling "my chest, arms, and neck, boobs, everything".

"I was kind of pressed against the door, he was forcing himself on me a bit."

He told her: "I'll let you go if you give me a hug."

"He was kissing my neck and feeling under my dress, I was wearing a pretty short dress. It was pretty gross," the woman told the court.

After about five minutes, the woman said she was going to vomit at which point he opened the doors.

She tried to take her heels off so she could run, but couldn't do it in time. The woman said Hameedi got out and ran around his taxi and pressed her up against the door.

He allegedly felt her up again and only let her go when she gave him a fake phone number.

Under cross-examination by Hameedi's lawyer Yoon Lee, she was asked why she didn't scream.

She said she felt vulnerable because she was a bit drunk and feeling ill.

"I just felt weak, I couldn't think straight, I didn't really know how to react best," the woman said.

"I thought being passive was the best way out."

She said as she left, he asked if they "could do it again" and smoke drugs together some other time.

"I think he was a bit delusional about it."

Lee submitted the security camera in the car only showed Hameedi "gently stroking" her shoulder and putting his head in her lap once but the woman said that wasn't how she remembered it.

Michael O'Brien, compliance officer for Auckland Co-Op Taxis who was called as a witness by the prosecution, said when a complaint was made about the job he pulled the driver's unique identification number, reviewed the CCTV footage and suspended the driver immediately.

O'Brien said he informed the New Zealand Transport Agency the results of his investigation and handed the footage over to the police.

The footage was shown to the court and shows the woman and Hameedi chatting and laughing during their journey.

When they stop, he takes his belt off, puts his hand behind her seat, strokes her shoulder, puts his hand on her thigh then reaches down and puts his head in her lap.

The woman appears to be begging to leave and when he opens the door, they both get out.

The rest of the alleged indecent assault was not caught on camera.

He then gets back in his car and drives off.

The trial continues.