CAIRO: An investigation is underway into allegations that a shaabi [popular] singer was stabbed in the chest by his wife after attempting to suffocate her. The wife was wounded in the face, the neck and suffered various bruises and abrasions. The incident took place in their home after the singer allegedly attempted to force his wife to attend private parties in casinos with his customers in return for sums of money. The couple was admitted to Kasr Al-Aini Hospital with serious injuries. The Old Cairo prosecution office is investigating the incident and has requested a medical report and summoned witnesses. The incident began at 4 am, when the singer Adel, 29, returned to his home in Old Cairo. He woke up his wife Hanaa, 26, and asked her to accompany him to nightclubs where he works in Al-Haram district and downtown Cairo to flirt with their affluent Arab clients. She refused and went back to bed. The husband decided to settle the matter and is alleged to have threatened her, claiming that they would earn large amounts of money if she went along. When she insisted on rejecting his demands, the husband attacked his wife verbally and physically and tried to suffocate her. The wife is claimed to have taken hold of a big kitchen knife and stabbed her husband in the chest. He fell bleeding to the floor in the hallway. Assistant Interior Minister for Cairo's Investigation Department Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abdel-Jawwad was alerted of the incident by neighbors, and Old Cairo Chief of Detectives Lt. Col. Abdel-Aziz Salim attended the scene. When he arrived, however, he was unable to question either injured party as they had already been taken to hospital. The neighbors said they heard the voices of the quarreling couple, who were threatening each other with murder. Investigations, led by Director of Cairo Investigation Department Maj. Gen. Amin Ezzieddin, revealed the husband is a singer in a nightclub and that he attempted to train his wife in belly dancing and to join his troupe. When he failed, he tried to force her to go with him to cabarets, flirt with customers and attend private parties with them. A police note was filed after the incident and the knife used, together with some tools and blood-contaminated dishes, were seized. An investigation is underway at the Prosecution Office.
