MAN CRIES RAPE

In the first incident, at 11 pm on Tuesday, an 18-year-old man boarded a PH taxi at the corner of Queen and Henry streets in Portof- Spain and asked the driver to be taken to his home in Belmont.

Apart from the teen, who sat in the front passenger seat and the male driver, two other men were sat in the backseat.

The driver proceeded north along Belmont Circular Road and then turned into Makai Lands off Belmont Valley Road, where the car came to a halt.

The teen later told police that the man seated behind him, reclined the front seat and held on to his hands. The second man and the driver then held down the teen victim and pulled down his pants. As the driver indecently assaulted him, the teen began to scream for help and tried to break free.

The two male passengers spoke in broken English with a heavy foreign accent. A passerby who heard the screams later walked up to the car and knocked on the back door, causing the three men to let go of the teen who unlocked the door, jumped out of the car, put back on his pants and run off.

The teen later made his way to the Belmont Police Station and filed a report.

Police said that there are several reports of a man pretending to be a PH driver who has been preying on young men seeking transport at nights.

The driver, police sources said, rides with two other men. Police have contacted the Counter Trafficking Unit to assist them in this investigation.

In an unrelated incident, at about 4.30 pm on Tuesday, a 36-year-old woman boarded a car at Harris Promenade in San Fernando asking the driver to take her to Princes Town. The victim observed two men seated in the back of the car. Instead of proceeding to Princes Town, the driver drove to Balisier Avenue in Pleasantville.

Police said that when the woman asked the driver why he had diverted from the route, one of the men in the backseat grabbed her. The woman was blindfolded and gagged.

She was taken to an unknown located and raped by one of the men. The woman was then dropped off in Golconda. A report was made to San Fernando police.

In the third incident, a 23-yearold bar attendant boarded a Nissan B14 taxi at Library Corner in San Fernando at 4.35 am on Wednesday and asked to be taken to Sobo Village in La Brea. Police said that on reaching Sobo Village, the driver pointed a knife at the woman and threatened to kill her. He then brought the car to a stop at an abandoned shack close to the main road and pushed the woman into the shack.

The woman was raped by the man who later left her in the shack and drove off. She made her way to the La Brea police station and made a report. Police are calling on men and women to exercise extreme caution - especially at night - when seeking transport.

When possible, police said, try and travel in groups and avoid seeking the service of PH drivers.

No arrest has been made in these three incidents and investigations are continuing.