'Petrified' Indian cabbie drivers want cameras, perspex screens following Mohini murder

Auckland, Feb. 5 (ANI): Following the murder of Indian-origin cabbie Hiren Mohini, taxi drivers in Auckland are calling for perspex screens and security cameras to be made compulsory in taxis.ohini, 39, was stabbed to death by a passenger in the Auckland suburb of Mt Eden on Sunday morning.

The New Zealand Herald quoted Taxi Federation executive director Tim Reddish, as saying that there are currently no provisions in New Zealand legislation, which cover taxi driver safety.

Peter Vengala, a taxi driver, said he has been stabbed in the back after being called to an address on Auckland's North Shore. He said a man wearing a mask asked for his money before telling him: "I'm going to kill you".

Vengala said the industry needed to be regulated in the same way Australia is.

Another driver Karamjit Singh has been driving taxis for seven years and said drivers were now scared to work at night.

"At night you cannot keep an eye on the passengers, if they are sitting in the back you can't see what they are up to," Singh said.

He added that perspex screens behind the drivers were needed to protect them from being attacked by passengers.

Asked if security cameras could also help, Singh said: "The camera can identify but it can't save you."

Another driver, Sahib Singh, said he would be willing to pay the 2000 dollars cost of installing the screens.

"Life is very precious. We think the authorities should do something for the safety of drivers," Singh said. (ANI)