An Indian taxi driver has been sentenced to a fine of €2,880 for sexually assaulting a British customer at Palma airport. ‘That’s how things are done in Spain,’ he told her. The 29-year-old defendant pleaded guilty on Friday at the trial. The judge took into account the mitigating circumstance of reparation for the damage after the man compensated the victim with €5,000.
The events took place at around 3.30 a.m. on 3 October 2023. A 33-year-old British tourist was drunk in Punta Ballena, Magalluf, and decided to return to her hotel, which was located nearby. A friend of the woman hailed a taxi from Calvia to take her to the hotel.
The woman got into the back seat of the vehicle and her friend told the defendant the destination. A few metres after setting off, the man stopped the car and told the tourist that she had to pay for the service, which amounted to 50 euros, in advance and that she had to sit in the front passenger seat.
The victim followed the driver’s instructions, paid for the service by card and sat in the front. The driver then took advantage of the fact that the victim was intoxicated, resumed the journey and took the motorway to Palma airport. During the journey, the man touched the woman’s breasts and crotch over her clothes and tried to kiss her.
Once at the airport, he dropped the victim off and said to her: ‘That’s how things are done in Spain, get used to it.’ As a result of these events, the woman required psychological treatment and suffered from anxiety and depression, as well as traumatic flashbacks.