A bus driver in Basel has been banned from driving as an occupation for five years, after being caught working without actually having a Swiss driving licence. The man in question had been a bus driver in the city for 1,5 years before his crime was discovered.
The driver will now need to change his occupation for the time being, after the Basel criminal court issued the man with a professional ban on driving for the next five years. Public transport in Switzerland is a profession that requires highly-qualified drivers, so it is unclear how the man managed to land the job without a proper check of his credentials.
In a separate offence, the accused is alleged to have gotten involved in a motoring dispute with another driver in Muttenz near Basel. The accused is said to have loaded the other motorist onto the front of his car and dragged the person several metres along the road. The former bus driver was also accused of cocaine consumption behind the wheel.
It's perhaps no surprise that the Swiss legal system came down heavily on the unqualified driver. Not only did he receive a professional ban for his lack of a driving licence, but he was also handed a 13-month suspended sentence and a fine of 57 daily rates of 110 Swiss francs.
The former bus driver was just spared from being stripped of his Swiss residence permit. Weirdly, according to the court, since the man has no previous criminal record, his prognosis for the future remains good.
Image: Shutterstock.com / Michael Derrer Fuchs