- Umar Subi Gammeda made an inappropriate remark to a Brisbane passenger
- The Ethiopian national had been giving a lift to Fortitude Valley in August 2017
- His female passenger, 25, had told him she was gay during chat about marriage
- The Uber driver, 46, told her homosexuality wasn’t condoned in his home nation
Umar Subi Gammeda made the inappropriate comment after giving the 25-year-old woman a lift to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley in August 2017.
The 46-year-old African man had been chatting with his much younger passenger about whether she was married after collecting her from her inner-city Paddington home, Brisbane Magistrates Court was told.
As they drove to the Fortitude Valley nightclub district, the woman told him she was gay.
Umar Subi Gammeda made the inappropriate comment after giving the woman a lift to Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley in August 2017
Subi Gammeda responded that homosexuality wasn’t condoned in his home country of Ethiopia.
He then asked how she had sex with her girlfriend, which was the basis of the public nuisance charge.
His defence barrister Debra Wardle told the court her client was sorry for his conduct.
‘He fully accepts that it’s offensive here and he shouldn’t have said it,’ she said.
‘This offence really boils down to cultural differences and not understanding, and he apologises for the offence that he has caused.’
The African man had been chatting with his 25-year-old passenger about whether she was married after collecting her from her Paddington home, Brisbane Magistrates Court was told Umar Subi Gammeda (pictured) then asked how she had sex with her girlfriend, which was the basis of the public nuisance charge Her client was initially charged with deprivation of liberty after allegedly detaining the customer for more than an hour.
But prosecutors withdrew that charge on Friday morning due to lack of evidence.
The Uber driver instead pleaded guilty in Brisbane Magistrates Court to causing a public nuisance.
Since being charged, Subi Gammeda hasn’t worked as an Uber driver and was unemployed for six months before finding a job as a labourer at a chicken farm.
Ms Wardle told the court he intended to return to work as a professional driver.
Subi Gammeda did not have a conviction recorded against his name.
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