Photo: Contributed An Uber driver who held a teen passenger’s hand without her consent while repeatedly asking if he could pay her for sex won’t go to jail but will have a criminal record for his actions. Rabinder Singh Kang, 39, of Surrey was handed a suspended sentence and two years’ probation by Judge Tim Hinkson in North Vancouver provincial court June 14 after pleading guilty to sexual assault. Hinkson described the assault as “a violation of trust by a professional driver twice her age” which was sexually motivated.
“A young woman entered an Uber late at night with the expectation of being driven to her destination safely and without fear. She was entitled to that expectation,” said Hinkson. “Instead, she was harassed, taken off route and ultimately assaulted in an opportunistic fashion by the very person entrusted with this task.
” According to an agreed statement of facts, the incident happened over three years ago on Jan. 27, 2021, in North Vancouver. The teen, who can’t be identified, ordered an Uber ride shortly before 1 a.
m. to take her from North Vancouver to visit a friend in East Vancouver. Kang, who had been working as an Uber driver for about a year, picked her up.
During the drive, when the teen asked if he had any nicotine, Kang offered to stop and buy some, but she declined. Despite that, the driver pulled over on to a dark street behind a convenience store. At that point the teen began to feel uncomfortable and concerned for her safety,.
