Lebanon’s interior minister accuses Uber of not checking records

Lebanon's Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk talks after closing the polling stations during Beirut's municipal elections in the Interior ministry in Beirut, Lebanon May 8, 2016. (REUTERS)

Uber drivers show their identity cards and drivers license outside the company's in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017, during a protest against Lebanon's interior minister Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk warning against using Uber after a driver for the ride-hailing service was arrested in connection with the murder of a British woman who worked at the U.K. Embassy. (AP)

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s interior minister said on Thursday that Uber driver suspected of murdering a British embassy worker last week had served time in prison, and he accused the company of not checking criminal records of its drivers.
The body of Rebecca Dykes was found strangled on Saturday next to a highway outside Beirut. Police detained a suspect on Monday and said the crime was not politically motivated.
Minister Nohad Machnouk said the driver had three priors on his judicial record involving drugs and had been imprisoned on that basis.
“This company, when it hires drivers, and lets them work within its organization, does not check their priors,” he said at a news conference.
An Uber spokesperson said all drivers the company uses in Lebanon are fully licensed by the government and must have a clear judicial record.
The spokesperson said a copy of the driver’s judicial record published by local media, showing no judgments against the driver, was accurate. Uber confirmed in an email that he was a licensed taxi driver with a clean background check.