the beating and robbing at knife point of a 65-year-old taxi driver.

"I cannot and will not condone the senseless and cowardly act,'' he said yesterday. "I call on the community to desist from any further cowardly attacks and warn them that their behaviour puts the whole community at risk.'' Police reported that four male passengers set about the taxi driver after he picked them up on Front Street on Wednesday night.

En route to Cavendish Heights they ordered him to stop. After threatening him with a knife they hit him about the head and seized his money, a Police spokesman said.

The man later made his way to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital where he was treated for head injuries.

An hour earlier, four youths brandishing knives allegedly threatened a man on Church Street. Police say the two incidents may be connected.

Mr. Burgess yesterday urged taxi drivers to be extra cautious. This meant refusing rides if they felt at risk, he said.

And he promised he would consider introducing stiffer sentences for attackers.

"If I feel the sentences are too low I will certainly bring forward measures so that sentences reflect our views on this cowardly behaviour,'' he said.

The attack came amid growing concern among taxi drivers that they are particularly vulnerable to abuse over the Christmas season.

The issue of driver safety will be a major topic of concern at a Bermuda Taxi Owners Union meeting to be held early next year.

Among recommendations the union will be putting to Government and the Police to improve drivers' safety will include creating better radio communications.

BTOU spokesman, Mr. Lee Tucker said the incident was the second he had heard of this week.

"When you have two attacks in a week it means things are getting serious.

There is no telling how many others went unreported.

"It is a very serious problem,'' he said. "Some taxi drivers are all but refusing to work in some areas at some hours.'' He added the problem was probably more widespread than it appeared because cab drivers are reluctant to waste precious fare-earning time reporting an attack.

Mr. Tucker blamed the annual upsurge in drug and alcohol abuse over the holiday season for the rise in violence against drivers.

Anti-drinking and driving campaigns meant taxi drivers are particularly at risk from attacks by drunken passengers, he said.

But he said Wednesday's attack was just the latest of a number of incidents this year where clients refused to pay or robbed their drivers.

And he urged operators to be on the defensive by using discretion in accepting rides and keeping interior lights on at all times.

"Taxi drivers should take special precautions at this time of year,'' Mr.

Tucker said. "Operators must observe customers very closely -- their appearance and movements.'' But he rejected the idea of installing window shields to protect drivers. "We should not have to resort to that,'' he said. "We do a lot of work with tourists and making conversation is an important part of the business.'' He also urged the courts to treat crimes against cabbies more severely. "The law and the justice department have to take a more serious view of it. The courts must take it much more seriously,'' he said.

Mr. Tucker who admits he has had first hand experience of the problem during his 30-years driving a taxi, said almost every driver has encountered a problem at some time.

As a result, some now refuse to service certain parts of the Island.

"It is not easy,'' he admitted. "Taxi drivers get caught up in the middle of it. They are chastised for not working but they are victimised if they do.'' Police yesterday admitted there was little advice they could give to cabbies who are prohibited from carrying weapons, including mace, for self defence.

But Insp. Roseanda Jones yesterday advised cab drivers to carry a minimum amount of cash and to refuse rides to suspicious looking characters.

Earlier this year a taxi driver was bitten on the hand after his fare tried to rob him.

Anyone with information on Wednesday's attack should contact Police at 295-0011.