Woman 'king hits' cab driver for refusing to take her up a driveway

ENTRANCE: The driveway which a taxi driver refused to enter in the middle of the night before he was king hit by Puingahei Harding. PHOTO/JOHN STONE

A Whangarei taxi driver was king hit by a 50-year-old female passenger for refusing to drop her off up a driveway in the middle of the night.

William Murphy of Kiwi Cabs suffered a cracked partial dental plate and abrasions to the inside of his mouth in the attack outside Frings' Bar on November 7, 2014. His attacker, Puingahei Harding, pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault and was convicted by the Whangarei District Court last week. She was placed on good behaviour for six months and ordered to pay $100 reparation for the crack to the taxi driver's partial plate.

Judge Greg Davis said it was silly behaviour in which alcohol had a part to play.

Paul Cafferkey, director of Kiwi Cabs, said it was the first time in 26 years with the taxi industry he heard of a female passenger king hitting a driver.

About 11.30pm on November 7, 2014, Harding was at Frings Bar from where she called a taxi to take her to her home in Memorial Drive. The taxi driver told her he would drop her off at the bottom of the driveway as it was difficult to turn around at her house. Harding started verbally abusing him.

The taxi driver took her back to the bar where she could call another cab small enough to take her up her driveway. As he got out of the cab at the bar, Harding punched him in the mouth. The blow cracked his partial plate. In his victim impact statement, the taxi driver said he had to stop work and wash blood from his face after the assault.

"I was angry and upset that this woman would do this to me," he said.

Harding's lawyer Wiremu Puriri said all manner of vehicles had gone up her driveway in the past but the taxi driver refused.

Mr Cafferkey said there was nothing in the New Zealand transport law that required taxi drivers to drop off passengers at their doorsteps.

In cases where passengers were disabled or blind and had to be dropped off in areas where cabs could not access, he said taxi drivers usually assisted them to their destination.

"We can't position taxis where they can't turn. It's no different to a removal truck which can't turn up a driveway."

Mr Cafferkey said Mr Murphy was obviously quite traumatised because he did not expect a punch from a woman of that age.

Harding and three other homeowners who share the driveway forked out $10,000 a couple of years ago to have the driveway sealed, she said.

When approached at home she said the taxi driver simply did not want to come up as he did not like the driveway.