Assault case thrown out

Zulfiqar Khan said the accusations caused him to lose sleep and fall behind in his studies. Photo / Janna Dixon

A taxi driver has revealed the torment he has suffered over allegations he bashed two air stewardesses during a dispute over a $5 fare.

Zulfiqar Khan, 31, has been cleared of assaulting Rebeka Raiwalui and Alexis Hickman-Green outside Auckland's SkyCity casino last May.

The women, who were working for Qantas and Pacific Blue at the time, told police Khan hit one of them in the face and grabbed the other by the throat. The charges were dismissed after a hearing in the Auckland District Court last month.

Khan, who was born in Pakistan and has been living in New Zealand for 15 years, always maintained his actions were in self-defence.

He said he got out of the car only when the women started physically and verbally assaulting him.

The part-time model and personal trainer had been at a friend's house before he picked up the women.

He was working part-time between studies and tried to carry VIP passengers only because he was wary of the dangers faced by cabbies.

Khan said the women were very drunk when they got in the cab and Raiwalui swore at him repeatedly during the short drive to SkyCity.

"I told her to take it easy. That's all I said to her, but she was really bad."

Khan said he pulled up outside the casino and Hickman-Green asked what the fare was.

"It was about $5 or $6, it wasn't a big deal. The blonde (Hickman-Green) was about to give me $20 and the other one (Raiwalui) said, 'That's too f**king much'. I said, 'Don't worry about it, just go'."

Khan said that set Raiwalui off. "She got out of the car and slammed the door and fell down. I didn't do anything to her, I was still in my car. She came to my window ... and spat in my face. She tried to get in the window and scratch my face. She was really in a bad mood."

Khan said he got out of his car and pushed Raiwalui away.

"She was holding my sleeve and I was just telling her to go but she was fighting with me. I pushed her again and she let me go."

As he went to get back in his car, Khan said Hickman-Green hit him from behind.

"I don't blame her, she probably thought I was doing something to her friend."

Khan got in his car and went home. Several days later he was charged with assault and had his taxi licence revoked.

He said he fell behind in his studies and had trouble sleeping. He cried every time he spoke to his mother in Pakistan and suffered depression.

He struggled to make a living and said people gave him "evil looks" when they recognised him from newspaper reports.

Raiwalui and Hickman-Green did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

Khan's lawyer Michelle Clark said Judge Eddie Paul agreed Khan had not acted unreasonably and Hickman-Green conceded under cross-examination that Raiwalui approached Khan at his driver's window.

Although this was "adamantly denied" in evidence by Raiwalui, Judge Eddie Paul considered her "neither credible nor reliable", said Clark.

Khan, who has applied to get his taxi licence back, said he was "really happy" with the ruling, which meant he could focus on finding work without worrying about a criminal record.