Mohammed Asif had wept with fear in a police cell after being arrested when a passenger said the taxi driver had attacked her

Relieved: Taxi driver Mohammed Asif
Newsteam

A relieved cabbie told yesterday how a smartphone app proved sex claims made against him were lies.

Mohammed Asif, 34, had wept with fear in a police cell after being arrested when passenger Astria Berwick, 27, said the taxi driver had attacked her.

But the truth emerged when Mohammed remembered he had made a sound recording of the journey using an app on his Samsung Galaxy phone.

Traumatised Mohammed said yesterday the allegations had ruined his life, and added: "I have completely changed due to her lies.

"The ordeal has frightened me. I no longer speak to my passengers. I'm scared to go out.

"I keep thinking, "I just dropped her off. She was just a normal passenger. Why has she done this?""

Berwick cut herself to try to convince police that divorced dad-of-two Mohammed had subjected her to a terrifying sex assault on the way to her home.

She claimed he pounced as she was being sick by the road, slashed her face with a knife and groped her.

Bemused Mohammed was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and grilled by detectives for 12 hours.

He said: "I was crying in the cell. I was in there for a day. I told them there was a recording on my phone. I was saying "please check it"."

He recorded the journey with the app because his taxi's CCTV was broken.

Mohammed said he considers himself "very lucky" he had the evidence to hand.

Berwick has been jailed for 16 months after she admitted perverting the course of justice. Judge Michael Stokes QC blasted Berwick for her sick lies.

He told Nottingham crown court: "This was outrageous behaviour by the defendant against a wholly innocent man who was saved by the recording on his phone.

"Had he not recorded the conversation which demonstrated that nothing untoward occurred, he would probably still be in custody awaiting trial."

Mohammed said Berwick was drunk when he picked her up in his cab at 4.50pm on February 20.

He said the 11-mile journey from Nottingham city centre to her home in Bingham went smoothly, apart from having to pull over so she could be sick in a layby.

Berwick told police the attack began when she bent over to vomit.

Mohammed, of Carlton, in Nottingham, said he has battled depression since the arrest and lost a stone in weight.

He added: "Sixteen months is not a long time for someone who has ruined my life."

Nottingham police said: "False allegations have a huge impact on those falsely accused and their family.

"We investigate every crime thoroughly to discover the truth."

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