Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency
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Illegal driving instructor sentenced
The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) carried out an investigation which today (Nov 20) led to illegal driver instructor Harjit Singh Bhogal receiving a suspended prison sentence.
The investigation was made possible thanks to tip-offs from Approved Driving Instructors (ADIs) and members of the general public.
Bhogal, 61, from Slough, held entitlement to provide tuition as an ADI until being struck off the Register in 2003 following his conviction for Indecent Assault on a female learner driver.
The DSA received information to suggest that, despite his removal from the register, Bhogal continued to provide illegal instruction on a regular basis.
The DSA launched an investigation which resulted in Bhogal being charged with four counts of fraud by misrepresentation. The defendant denied all charges but was found guilty in October after 27 minutes' deliberation by a jury.
The case was adjourned until today for sentencing at Reading Crown Court.
Bhogal was given a nine-month prison sentence suspended for two years, a three-month curfew between the hours of 10pm-7am. He was ordered to pay £200 compensation to one pupil and £1400 court costs and was disqualified from driving for 12 months.
Sentencing, Judge Stephen John described Bhogal as a: "thoroughly dishonest and devious man."
After sentencing, Michelle Moston, Deputy Head of the Fraud & Integrity Team at DSA, said: "This case clearly demonstrates the reason why anyone who is paying for driving tuition must ensure that their instructor is an Approved Driving Instructor.
"Before an individual is allowed to register as an Approved Driving Instructor they are assessed by the Driving Standards Agency to ensure that they are "fit and proper" and that they have a high standard of driving and instructional ability. This includes criminal record bureau checks.
"Those people who took lessons with Mr Bhogal would have had no idea that he had previously been convicted of a sexual offence
"It's very simple to check that your driving instructor is qualified. Check that they display an in date pink or green certificate in their windscreen during lessons and that the photo ID is right."
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
1. The Driving Standards Agency (DSA) is an executive agency of the Department for Transport.
2. Information on road casualties is available on the Department for Transport website http://www.dft.gov.uk
3. The Agency's aim is to promote road safety through improving driving standards, testing drivers and riders fairly and efficiently, maintaining the registers of Approved Driving Instructors and Large Goods Vehicle Instructors and Post Test Motorcycle Trainers as well as supervising basic training for learner motorcyclists.
4. DSA is a trading fund with an expected turnover of around £164 million for the year 2007/8, fully funded by fee income and revenue from its activities.
5. DSA employs 2657 (2,585 full time equivalent), of which some 2,020 are driving examiners (1945 full time equivalent) based at over 432 test centres across mainland Great Britain. In 2006/2007 the Agency conducted 1.8 million practical tests for car drivers, 89,000 vocational tests and 78,000 motorcycle rider tests. A total of 1.5 million theory tests were carried out at 158 centres. At the end of the year there were 39,001 people on the Register of Approved Driving Instructors.
6. DSA is one of the first Government Agencies to introduce an 'online' booking service. Candidates can book and manage their theory and practical test appointments on line at http://www.direct.gov.uk/drivingtest
For further information contact DSA Press Office on 0115 936 6139.
