THE NSW Taxi Council is outraged over a $1000 fine imposed on a man who bashed a cab driver.

It says the penalty handed to the man, 26, who punched cabbie Farouk Elmoubayed, 64, in the face is a “slap on the hand”.

Mr Elmoubayed was unable to work for 15 days and needed stitches across his nose after the bashing on June 23 near Wollongong.

The taxi council wants the NSW Government to appeal the sentence handed down on Thursday in Kembla Local Court after the man pleaded guilty to punching the cabbie during a drunken argument.

Taxi council chief executive Howard Harrison said the penalty failed as a deterrent.

“An attack on a taxi driver is a serious crime, not a misdemeanour,” Mr Harrison said.

“These gutless bastards who attack our cabbies should not be able to get off with a slap on the hand.”

The state’s 1200 taxi drivers will be surveyed next week as part of a State Government taxi safety and security audit.

http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/bm/national/870200.html