Wary cab driver wrong to imprison riders

WINDSOR, Ontario, May 28 (UPI) -- A Canadian taxi driver who attempted a citizen's arrest of two fares he suspected of trying to cheat him by locking them in the cab was scolded by a judge.

Driver Munsur Moohidine told Judge Greg Campbell he picked up a couple from a nightclub in Windsor, Ontario, early on May 4, 2006, and drove them home. Once there, the male passenger said he had to go inside to get the $7 cash fare, but Moohidine testified he didn't believe the man, as he had lost money with that routine before.

He said he put his minivan in drive, which locked the doors, and began driving slowly to a police station, but after several blocks, the man and woman attacked him and managed to flee.

The pair was convicted Tuesday of assault and of breaching court orders not to consume alcohol and associate with each other.

However, Crown prosecutor Tom Meehan told the Windsor Star the judge wasn't impressed with the cab driver's imprisonment of customers either.

"He was clear this is not a good way for cabbies to act," Meehan said.