A TAXI driver who was also a chart-topping Indian musician has become the second cabbie this month to be jailed for a sex attack on a passenger.
Dhanraj Singh, of Greythorn Drive, West Bridgford, was taking a young woman home when he kissed and touched her.
The 24-year-old was told he breached his passenger's trust because she was in his care and had been drinking.
Nottingham Crown Court heard that Singh was a bhangra singer and was due to fly to Bombay to film a music video after topping the Asian music charts.
But instead, the father-of-two was sent to prison for nine months yesterday after being found guilty earlier this month of sexual assault.
Judge Gregory Dickinson said: "You are a talented, award-winning musician. You have put all of that in jeopardy.
"You were responsible for her safety and well-being.
"You took advantage of a lone female passenger who had been drinking."
The judge said the effect on the victim had been "very serious".
The court was told that the woman had made a statement saying she was "still raw" and was having ongoing counselling.
She had lost weight as a result of the attack on April 1, which had also affected her studies and left her feeling "vulnerable".
For Singh, Mark Achurch told the court: "He is a family man with two children who had been working anti-social hours to support his family.
"It was a short-lived incident. He lost his taxi driver's licence immediately and has been out of work and on benefits since."
The case comes less than two weeks after another Nottingham taxi driver was jailed for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl in the back of his cab.
Jamil Ahmed, chairman of Nottingham Licensed Taxi Owners' and Drivers' Association, said steps were being taken to keep passengers safe.
He said: "All the hackney cabs that are operating in Nottingham have been licensed by the city council.
"They have been through official checks so that there are no allegations of dishonesty, sexual or any type of offence.
"From the association's point of view, if you spot any person you're uncomfortable with, you can pass that information on to the association, who can then pass it on to the council.
"In all hackney cabs, the person is totally separate in their own environment.
"It's a lot safer in their own hackney cab as opposed to a saloon car. That's what we would suggest – to catch a hackney."
The city council said that Singh was not licensed by the authority.
Pete Mitchell, the authority's head of licensing, permits and regulation, said: "In terms of enforcement, we have staff out in the city centre checking taxis most nights of the week. In addition to this, we run multi-agency operations with the police."
