'Hero' taxi driver keeps licence despite sexual intimacy with armed robber

A taxi driver in Perth, Australia, has had his cab licence provisionally reinstated after he was accused of taking a suspected bank robber to his home and showering with her. The driver, Tony Vaisi, was initially hailed as a hero for making a citizen's arrest after he picked the suspect up in November.



However, the Western Australia Department of Transport suspended his licence after admissions in his statement to police raised suspicions he had breached the taxi driver's code of conduct, which bans sexual advances towards a passenger. Yesterday, State Administrative Tribunal member Bertus de Villiers ruled Mr Vaisi could return to work until a final determination later this year.

News report at time of original incident.

YouTube link.

The passenger is accused of a string of offences, including an armed robbery at knifepoint in Padbury, a car jacking and bank robberies in Dianella and Booragoon. Mr Vaisi claimed at the SAT hearing the woman had held him hostage after entering his cab, and had forced him to drive her around. But prosecutor Peter Busby told an earlier hearing an on-board recording from Mr Vaisi's cab showed he did not appear under duress, and his intention had been to persuade the woman to go to his home.



Once there, the hearing was told, Mr Vaisi had smoked cigarettes and drunk wine with her before showering and becoming intimate in his bedroom. Mr Vaisi argued he had taken the woman to his house in an effort to gain her trust and to protect his safety. "I am very happy with the decision ... I got my licence and my credibility back,'' Mr Vaisi said after yesterday's hearing.

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