Woman indecently assaulted by Rotorua taxi driver

A taxi driver is to be sentenced for indecently assaulting one of his passengers. Photo / Getty Images.

A Rotorua taxi driver who repeatedly stuck his hand down a woman's top and pants during an early-morning taxi ride is to be sentenced next month.

Mandeep Singh will be sentenced on December 7 in the Rotorua District Court after previously pleading guilty to one charge of indecently assaulting a female over 16.

According to the summary of facts, released to the Rotorua Daily Post, Singh was working as a taxi driver for Rotorua Taxis in the early hours of August 25 when the assault happened.

At 12.15am he accepted a job and picked up four customers from an Utuhina address, including his female victim.

He dropped the woman off at her home address but as she walked to her house she realised she forgot her house keys. A short time later she decided to walk back to her friend's house to get her keys.

About 12.45am Singh saw the woman walking alone, stopped the taxi nearby and asked if the woman was okay.

He offered to give her a ride but the woman said she had no money to pay the fare, to which he told her not to worry about the money and that he would still drop her off.

As he was driving back to the woman's friend's house, Singh put his hand on the woman's thigh. She asked him to take his hand off her but Singh started rubbing the area instead.

She grabbed Singh's hand and pushed it away in an attempt to stop him, however he immediately placed his left hand on the woman's arm.

He then moved his hand down to the front right side of the woman's jeans and inside her top and towards her lower stomach.

After attempts to stop Singh's behaviour, all of which were ignored, the woman yelled at him, telling him to "F****** leave her alone".

At some point Singh removed his hand from out of her jeans, letting go of her.

When he arrived at the woman's friend's house, Singh asked for her phone number, to which she replied "absolutely not".

The woman tried to open the passenger door when Singh reached over and put his hand down her top, touching her chest area for one to two seconds before the woman was able to turn her back, causing him to take his hand away.

The woman got out of the taxi and told Singh he was a creep and couldn't treat her like that.

She called police once inside her friend's house.

When questioned by police, Singh gave no reasonable justification for his actions and stated it was his mistake.

Rotorua Taxis chairman Ken Driver said he viewed the taxi cam footage of the incident and Singh was subsequently suspended. Land Transport was contacted and Singh's P endorsement, allowing him to operate a commercial vehicle, was revoked.

Driver said Rotorua Taxis took all complaints seriously and were investigated immediately.

He said he wanted all women to feel safe and secure during a taxi ride.