Uber has issued statement regarding the alleged rape by one of its drivers on early Sunday morning in Sydney’s Kings Cross.
It said: “Our thoughts remain with the victim and her family in this terrible situation. We will do everything we can to work with the police to help with their investigation.”
The Uber spokesperson added although the driver was a contractor for the business “this was not a ridesharing trip but a ride accepted on the street and not through an app. While the driver claimed to be driving with a ridesharing service, we have yet to establish whether the suspect is associated with our platform.”
Uber is said to be working with the police and have reminded potential Uber passengers to order vehicles through the app and not just hail cars from the side of the road. “We recommend that anyone using our app check the driver’s photograph, car model and registration before getting into the vehicle.”
News Corp has this afternoon reported the driver’s name was Muhammad Naveed – a 39 year old Pakistani national with Australian residency. Naveed’s victim was a British tourist who had only been in Australia for three weeks.
Naveed’s lawyers told news.com.au: “We’ll be arguing it was consensual. I don’t think it’s going to go very far. There was no violence, the only sign of violence was a mark on the inside of her leg but that can happen in a normal sexual encounter.
