DUBAI // Two shopkeepers remain in hospital and another is recovering at home after they were attacked in three separate incidents - including one in which a fourth man was killed.
Naushad Abdul Hamid, 21, was stabbed by one of his customers over a delay in the delivery of Dh15 worth of fish and vegetables.
The stabbing happened last Friday when Mr Hamid, a cashier at Al Nawaes Al Madeena supermarket, was returning home.
He was stabbed in the chest by a watchman at a nearby building who had placed the order and became angry when it was not delivered on time.
The argument began earlier in a heated phone call, and ended with the knife attack at about 11pm.
Mr Hamid is recovering at Rashid Hospital and he is likely to undergo surgery soon.
His older brother, Naufel Abdul Hamid, who flew from India to be with him, said the victim had no medical insurance and that the hospital bills were mounting.
"We are trying to borrow money from relatives and friends to pay for his hospital expenses, which have already amounted to Dh5,000," he said.
Mr Hamid is out of danger, but his brother believes it may take a couple more weeks before he is discharged.
In another stabbing, shopkeeper Mohammed Sharief, 34, was knifed to death two weeks ago by a group of 15 men after a dispute over the purchase of some hair clippers in Sharjah.
Police said they arrested more than a dozen people in connection with the fight, in which four other people were injured.
All the injured men have been discharged from hospital and are recuperating at home.
Khalil Mattumal, who tried to help Mr Sharief during the fight said he sustained two knife cuts to his stomach.
"It will take some time before my wounds are healed. I still experience pain and am struggling to go to work. It's hard," he said.
The third incident resulted in a shopkeeper being shot in the chest. Hussain Fakhruddin, 21, was shot on June 19 during an attempted robbery at his store in the Al Naif area of Deira.
Mr Fakhruddin is likely to be discharged from Rashid Hospital soon, according to fellow workers. Two people have been arrested in connection with the case.
