Indian Uber driver Navjot Panju has been sentenced to seven months jail, suspended for eighteen months for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman in his car in December last year.
The 29-year-old driver pleaded guilty to the charge in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Tuesday. He will now be deported to India for the ‘serious offence,’ reported
‘Don’t cry’: Mr Panju told the victim
The former taxi driver first met the victim a week before the assault when he picked up her up for a ride, the court heard.
During the ride, he gave her his phone number and told her that she could call him directly for a cheaper ride in case she would be willing to pay the fare in cash.
On December 3, 2018, the victim called Mr Panju and asked him to pick her up from an address in the north-eastern suburb of Brisbane and drive her to Fortitude Valley.
The victim was seated in the front passenger seat when Mr Panju moved his hand up her thigh and tried to slip his hand down her underwear, the court was told.
“Soon after, the defendant pulled his pants down and pulled his penis out,” Crown prosecutor Kristyn Hales told the court, reported Courier Mail.
“She began to cry and he told her, ‘Don’t cry’”.
The victim messaged her friend who in turn called the police, the court heard. After driving around for half an hour, he later dropped the victim in Fortitude Valley.
Navjot Panju’s background:
Trained as a pharmacist in India, Mr Panju arrived in Australia in 2014 along with his wife who travelled to the country to pursue her post-graduate studies, his barrister Michael Smith told the court.
Handing out the sentence, Magistrate Michael Quinn said Mr Panju acted in a “disgraceful and unforgivable way.”
“You will never be allowed to return to this country — there are many people in this country that would be satisfied that you should not return to Australia,” added Mr Quinn.
