Bogus minicab driver rapist is jailed

04 June 2008

A BOGUS cab driver who raped a partygoer after she fled a row with her boyfriend was jailed for eight years on Friday.

Mohammed Ali, 36, of Benworth Street, Bow, prowled the streets of Soho looking for passengers desperate to get home.

He spotted his 35-year-old victim in Greek Street and offered her a lift, claiming to be a legitimate driver.

But when the woman, who had been drinking after a tiff with her lover, told Ali she had no cash, he drove her to a friend's place in the Isle of Dogs, forced her to strip and beat her before raping her.

The woman had earlier told Snaresbrook Crown Court that when Ali, who is married with two children, had made a pass at her, she snapped: "I'm not going to have sex with you."

But then the leering monster barked: "Take your clothes off."

"He beat me into submission then raped me" she said.

Full story in today's Tower Hamlets Recorder.