A Burmese Muslim refugee Uber driver has been denied bail after allegedly raping a female passenger in his car after picking her up from a Melbourne nightclub.
Mohamad Yahiya, 44, who has a wife and daughter who live in the Philippines, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday evening after being charged with rape and false imprisonment on Thursday.
The court heard the alleged victim, 19, has just left a nightclub on Flinders Street when Yahiya stopped and allegedly offered her a ride home, Nine News reported.
He then allegedly showed her condoms, said “it won’t take long, I’ll finish really fast” and raped her in the back seat of his car before dumping her on the side of the road in West Melbourne, the court heard.
Before the rape the woman sent a friend a text message saying “help…plz”, and has told police that while she had been drinking she was not drunk.
Police told the court she was traumatised, and terrified at the thought of Yahiya being released.
In refusing bail Magistrate Gregory Robinson said: “The predatory nature of the offending is such I do consider him a risk to other women in the community”.
Yahiya, who lives in Pakenham, has had his Uber account suspended.
The alleged rape comes after another Muslim Uber driver was charged with raping a young female passenger in Sydney last month.
