A Sydney taxi driver has been sentenced to nine months jail for groping a sleeping passenger.
Shakeel Uddin, 49, was told he will serve a non-parole period of six months for the "very serious offence" of assault with an act of indecency.
He assaulted the 24-year-old woman in Summer Hill in Sydney's inner west after she had fallen asleep in the back of his taxi in the early hours of February 23.
Sentencing him at Burwood Local Court, Magistrate Margaret Quinn said a passing police man heard the victim screaming from the parked car and went to help.
She said the fact there was an independent witness was a deciding factor in her finding Uddin guilty as "it was not simply just word on word".
Ms Quinn said Uddin had committed a "breach of trust".
"You have to protect the community," she added.
"A person going home in a taxi in the evening has a right to feel safe."
The court heard Uddin, from Canley Vale, denies the offence and has shown no remorse.
The state's peak taxi industry group has welcomed the decision.
The NSW Taxi Council said the safety of passengers was its top priority.
"It's a very serious offence and we welcome the sentence and jail time," said a spokesperson.
"He won't be driving a taxi again."
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