Saudi businessman stabbed in Cairo

BY SHAHD ALHAMDAN JEDDAH — Saudi businessman Mohammed Al-Shaarawi, chairman of a pilgrims services company, was stabbed in his shoulder with a chopper knife last Sunday, and is now recovering at a hospital in Cairo. An Egyptian businessman, also in the pilgrims’ service field, and two women helpers attacked Al-Shaarawi, who is in his 50s, in his apartment in Giza district in Cairo. The Egyptian has been arrested. The Saudi Embassy in Cairo has opened an investigation into the case to determine the cause, according to the victim’s daughter. Turkan, Al-Shaarawi’s youngest daughter, told Saudi Gazette, that her father was discharged from the intensive care on Friday and but is still being treated in one of Cairo’s hospitals. “The wound in his shoulder is deep. My father has been psychologically affected after the incident,” she said. She said that her father had been seeking to recover from the Egyptian businessman around SR1 million, which the latter owed since 2013 following business deals, but the man was avoiding paying him. Al-Shaarawi sued him and won the case. “The court, while ruling in my father’s favor, told the Egyptian to pay up and settle the issue,” she said. Turkan explained that her father was entering his apartment after a long day’s work and was alone. “The building has a lot of clinics, so the security is lax allowing a many visitors in without checking. “Two women knocked on the door that day. My father, before opening the door, asked who is it. The women told him that they too had lent money to the Egyptian businessman and had come to seek his help. They made repeated requests for help till he opened the door. They might have known that he was alone as they came 5 minutes after his arrival,” she added. Al-Shaarawi, on opening the door, found that the Egyptian was with the two women. They pushed him, kicked him, and tied him up after stabbing him. The Egyptian man forced Al-Shaarawi to sign blank checks and bills before leaving him in a pool of blood alone in the apartment. Turkan said, “We knew only later that our father was in intensive care and that the Saudi Embassy and the police have intervened in the case. My mother, sister and I were terrified on hearing the news but were happy that he was still alive. “Now, I can’t wait to see him return to the Kingdom. We are waiting for him to fully recover, and be discharged from the hospital,” she added.