Qld Uber and rideshare drivers who fronted court
Rideshare drivers are meant to get us from A to B but, as these cases prove, there is a small minority who give them a bad name. SEE THE LIST
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Rideshare drivers are meant to get us from A to B but, as these cases prove, there is a small minority who give them a bad name.
This is a list of drivers across Queensland who have got on the wrong side of the law in the past 12 months.
It comes as a Reddit user detailed her friend’s terror with an Uber driver in Brisbane.
“On the drive (she was on her own) … (he) was overly suggestive and creepy,” the post read.
“He was way out of line coming on to her like that. She’s composing her complaint about him to Uber, but in the meantime watch out for him.”
Others shared similar experiences.
“My (now ex) girlfriend had an uber driver drop her off at my place … kept asking her if she was single, what she was doing after,” JustBeSimplee wrote.
“ … I got a hand written note in my letter box that was like “you left your sunglasses in the car” … “here’s my number so that I can give it to you, I thought you were so sexy”.”
See the list of Queensland rideshare drivers who fronted court below >>>
NO CONVICTION RECORDED
Jason Frank Devsam
A Gold Coast rideshare driver launched a savage attack on a 76-year-old man in response to the most minor of provocations, leaving the septuagenarian with a broken wrist and shattered dentures, a court heard in March 2025.
Robina man Jason Frank Devsam, 30, appeared in Southport Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to a single charge of serious assault of a person over the age of 60.
The offence was committed about 12pm on November 13 last year at Carrara’s Riverside Home Park, located off Nerang Broadbeach Rd next to People First Stadium.
Devsam was dropping off a fare outside of the Kool Beanz SUNS Carrara childcare centre, ahead of that evening’s Pearl Jam concert at the stadium, when a passenger’s opened door came close to striking the victim’s vehicle as it attempted to pass on the right.
The victim and his wife honked to alert Devsam of the danger and they continued down Nerang Broadbeach Rd and into Riverside, a housing estate for people aged 50 and over, into which they were followed by Devsam.
The victim and his wife parked up at the estate’s community centre on Second Ave to check the mail, and Devsam pulled in behind them, the court heard.
The victim approached Devsam and told him through the rideshare driver’s window he couldn’t be there, as it was a private estate, and a verbal disagreement ensued.
Devsam exited his vehicle and pushed the elderly man firmly with both hands, causing the victim to pitch forward and fall, face down, on to the ground.
The defendant got in his car to leave, but then thought better of it, returned to where the man was lying, and pitched a rock at the prostrate man and his partner, narrowly missing them.
He then returned to his vehicle and drove off.
The court heard the victim suffered a fractured right wrist, and bruising and lacerations, and his dentures were shattered and prescription glasses crushed.
Devsam was subsequently summoned to Robina Police Station, where he conceded to investigators it was a “mistake” to follow the other car into the estate, but said he felt threatened once the older man sidled up to his window and allegedly began slapping the roof of his car.
Defence lawyer Nic Tobin told the court his client, who had no previous criminal history, maintained he felt threatened when the 76-year-old slapped the roof of his car, but the assault represented a “brain fade”.
Devsam was placed on nine months’ probation.
No conviction was recorded.
Paul Rodney Dredge
A Gold Coast Uber driver lashed out at a parking officer after he was dealt a fine for pulling into a disabled parking bay.
Paul Rodney Dredge was charged with committing public nuisance near a licensed premises and serious assault of a public officer in connection with the incident at Broadbeach last year.
Dredge in February 2025 pleaded guilty to both charges in the Southport Magistrates Court.
Police prosecutor Blair Casey told the court a parking inspector with the Gold Coast City Council saw Dredge’s car stopped in a disabled parking bay without a sticker on the evening of September 25.
When Dredge, 59, was unable to provide a permit, the parking officer told him he would receive a $645 fine.
Dredge got out of the car and followed the parking officer down the street.
Mr Casey said the parking officer called a colleague for back-up, but the situation kept escalating, coming to a head when Dredge spat on the parking officer’s vest.
Dredge’s solicitor Rachel Carson said that Dredge had pulled into the parking bay momentarily as he was waiting to pick up his Uber passengers.
Magistrate Jane Bentley said the offending was to be treated seriously by the courts, specifically because “the victim of your actions was a public officer who was simply trying to carry out the terms of his employment”.
Dredge was sentenced to 60 hours’ community service within six months, fined $1000 and ordered to pay $800 to the victim.
No conviction was recorded.
CONVICTION RECORDED
Satinder Singh
An Uber driver who sexually assaulted a vulnerable 18-year-old passenger denied the offending and attempted to paint the victim and her girlfriend as racist young women who had misbehaved in his car.
But a jury rejected Satinder Singh’s story, finding him guilty of the frightening attack on the young woman which persisted despite her rejecting his sexual advances and repeatedly telling him “no”.
The “remorseless” 34-year-old was in April 2024 sentenced for the December 2022 attack, weeks after a jury found him guilty of four counts of sexual assault.
District Court Judge Vicki Loury KC said after dropping off the victim’s girlfriend, Singh had invited the 18-year-old to sit in the front of his Uber for the rest of her journey so she could select the music.
“On the drive to her house you commenced asking her personal questions,” Judge Loury said. “Those questions included asking her age, commenting on the size of her breasts and her girlfriend and asking if she was gay. When she said that she was, you asked if she would participate in a threesome, you asked for her phone number and if she was free during the week, you also lied to her about your own age.”
The court heard when they reached the final destination, Singh asked if he could hug her.
“Before she could answer you grabbed her left breast and squeezed it, you grabbed her right breast and squeezed it, as you did so, you kissed her on the cheek and neck,” Judge Loury said.
Singh denied the offending, taking the case to trial where the young woman was forced to recount the attack in evidence.
Singh was sentenced to 10 months’ imprisonment to be suspended for two years after he had served four months in custody.
Mark David Frederick Lauritz
A Central Queensland taxi driver was in October 2024 banned from the road after a boozy blunder involving home brew vodkas and sodas.
Mark David Frederick Lauritz, 60, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court to drink driving.
Police prosecutor Corey O’Connor said about 5.30pm on August 27, Lauritz was on duty as a taxi driver when police intercepted him on the Scenic Highway at Lammermoor.
“He (Lauritz) stated he was a taxi driver and was working at the time – he had just dropped off a fare, and was on his way to Cedar Park,” Mr O’Connor said.
“As a working taxi driver (he) was subject to a zero alcohol limit.”
After a random breath test, Lauritz returned a blood alcohol reading of .057.
“He (Lauritz) stated he consumed approximately half a dozen home brew vodkas and sodas, with his last drink being approximately 12 hours earlier around 5am,” Mr O’Connor said.
The court heard Lauritz had a previous drink driving offence from two years ago on his traffic history – on that occasion he blew .073.
Solicitor Matthew Mallet said Lauritz was “deeply remorseful” for his actions.
Mr Mallet added that over the past several years, Lauritz had made several changes in his life.
In relation to the offending, Mr Mallet said Lauritz had stopped drinking alcohol 12 hours prior to driving, and before getting behind the wheel he had slept, eaten, hydrated and exercised.
Mr Mallet said Lauritz had completed a traffic offenders program prior to sentencing.
Magistrate Cameron Press fined Lauritz $600 and disqualified him from driving for four months and two weeks.
A traffic conviction was recorded.
Sai Ram Karnekota
A taxi and rideshare driver who sexually assaulted two female passengers was in June 2024 handed a reduced jail sentence after testing revealed significant brain damage likely contributed to his actions.
Sai Ram Karnekota reappeared in Southport District Court pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault after he targeted two women on the Gold Coast.
The court was previously told Karnekota, while employed as an Uber driver, squeezed the breast of a 29-year-old woman as he dropped her off at her Mermaid Beach home in the early hours of November 6, 2022.
Months later Karnekota struck again, picking up his second victim from The Star Gold Coast in a taxi.
Despite the woman’s protests, Karnekota touched her thigh and genitalia and put his hand down her dress to grab her breast, prompting his victim to jump from the vehicle while it was still moving at about 15km/h and run home.
Both women reported the sexual assaults to police in the following days.
A new psychological report tendered to court revealed Karnekota had been suffering from “significant neuro-psychological impairments” at the time, caused by epileptic seizures and a brain lesion.
Defence barrister James Grehan of Vered Turner Lawyers said the report found Karnekota, an Indian national with tertiary qualifications and job experience as a mechanical engineer, developed a significant brain disorder impacting his ability to control his impulses.
Victim impact statements from both women previously read in court revealed the anxiety and distress they suffered after the assaults, with the second also describing “overwhelming” self-blame and guilt diminishing her self-worth.
Judge Jodie Wooldridge sentenced Karnekota to 15 months imprisonment for charges one and three and six months imprisonment for charge two, both wholly suspended after two months. Karnekota was ordered to pay $4000 compensation, to be split equally between the two women.
Nasir Ilyas Kicho
A court heard that a “predatory” man who preyed upon vulnerable Toowoomba women had spent too much time in custody and was sentenced in a way to save the refugee from being deported.
The 26-year-old man, Nasir Ilyas Kicho, was sentenced before the Toowoomba District Court in May 2025 after he spent 240 days in presentence custody.
Kicho pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting three women, which occurred in Toowoomba between July 2023 and March 2024, and included the deprivation of liberty of a young woman and a common assault charge.
After entering his pleas, he told the court he was “so sorry”.
During the first sexual assault, he was working as a Door Dash Driver, the second woman he met at a local pub, and he was posing as an Uber driver during the third sexual assault.
The court heard that the first victim of Kicho was a 16-year-old girl, whom he solicited and sexually assaulted in July 2023 after delivering her Door Dash order.
During the somewhat protracted incident, Kicho grabbed the teenager’s breast and vagina, and forcefully kissed her a number of times despite her vehemently protesting and pushing the man away.
He eventually admitted to police to kissing the girl on the forehead, but not the lips.
The court heard the second sexual assault occurred in March 2024, against a 42-year-old woman he met while drinking at a Toowoomba brewery, before offering to give her a lift home.
During the incident, Kicho grabbed the woman’s breast and repeatedly touched the woman’s thighs despite being told to stop.
The court heard the third sexual assault was committed against a young woman who was waiting for an Uber in the Toowoomba CBD after leaving her friends at a bar.
The woman realised something was wrong when Kicho began driving in the wrong direction, before he stopped at a bottle shop where he kissed her before locking her in the car.
She began messaging her friends that she was in trouble and needed help.
Crown Prosecutor Peri Cardiff said Kicho deliberately targeted vulnerable women, and the Toowoomba community utterly denounced the very serious and concerning crime.
After adjourning the sentence to review past cases of a similar nature, Judge Chowdhury sentenced Kicho to a nine-month jail term, taking into account 276 days he served in custody.
Judge Chowdhury said he served more time than usual, which equated to a two-year jail term, with half of the time served, noting that offenders who plead guilty to their crimes are entitled to a reduced penalty.
Johnathon Wayne Kliendienst
A Stanthorpe predator will remain a reportable offender but won’t see the inside of a jail cell after breaching a suspended sentence, a judge ruled in May 2024.
Johnathon Wayne Kliendienst, 41, will remain a registered sex offender until 2027, but was sentenced to a rising of the court by Judge Dennis Lynch KC.
This is a nominal penalty where the offender is held in custody until the court adjourns.
Crown prosecutor Arielle Spiteri detailed to the court Kliendienst’s sentencing related to a matter from August 25, 2022, when the then 39-year-old requested the Snapchat account of a 16-year-old and began sending sexualised messages to the teenager.
Kliendienst, who was a taxi driver at the time and had started the communication after dropping the girl at her house, pleaded guilty to one count of using electronic communication to procure a child under 16, and was sentenced to nine months’ jail, which was wholly suspended for 18 months after he served three months in custody.
The breaches of his suspended sentence came after he came in contact with a friend’s two children, and failed to report within 24 hours.
Further breaches regarded Kliendienst having access to an old email account and a PlayStation gaming account.
Defence lawyer Jess Goldie told the court the man had significant health problems, such as chronic kidney disease and depression.
Judge Dennis Lynch KC remarked the man had a relevant criminal history in both NSW and Queensland, and would remain for a “significant time into the future”.
The six breaches of his suspended sentences were fail to report, including the two failures to report contact with two children, and the others related to failure to report usernames and email addresses.
Kliendienst was sentenced to a rising of the court and will be subjected to his obligations to report until the end of 2027.
*All cases are correct at time of publication but could be subject to appeal
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