A takeaway restaurant boss was left fighting for his life after being brutally assaulted by a customer annoyed he was taking too long to cook his £6.50 peri peri chicken meal.
Hannan Kabir, 37, was repeatedly punched in the head for three minutes during the unprovoked assault in his takeaway in February.
He suffered a broken nose and a swollen head and went to Southend Hospital’s A&E department and police are hunting his attacker.
Doctors there didn’t carry out any scans and failed to detect the damage the attack had caused to his arteries and veins.
He was discharged only to be rushed back to hospital in a critical condition a week later when blood started pouring out of his nose.
He said: “My wife called an ambulance and it came within 40 minutes, but in that time my basin was full of more than two inches of blood.
“They tried to stop it but it could not be stopped. Then they took me in again to hospital.
“The artery and some of my vessels were ripped and I had surgery in there.
“I was really fighting with death, it was uncontrollable.”
The attack happened on Saturday, February 13, after the man became irate when Mr Kabir served another customer before him at around 5 pm.
Bizarrely he waited to be served and ate half his meal before leaving.
Mr Kabir thought the matter was over but the man returned two hours later, went behind the counter and started punching him.
He said: “He was swearing so much and he picked up a menu holder and threw it at my head.
“He came inside the counter and started punching. I tried to protect my head but most of them hit me in my head and face.
“I don’t know how many times he punched me but it went on for three minutes. When he saw the blood he stopped.”
At hospital doctors bandaged Mr Kabir’s nose but told him he didn’t need to have an X-ray, despite his pleas.
A week later blood started pouring from his from his mouth, nose and ears.
He then spent six days in Broomfield Hospital, in Chelmsford, Essex where he had specialist treatment before being discharged.
Mr Kabir still suffers from headaches, memory loss and high blood pressure.
The attack has forced him to cancel a trip to visit his parents in Bangladesh, who he has not seen in nearly nine years, because it is not safe for him to fly.
Mr Kabir has also quit his job at the takeaway because he is scared of the same thing happening again.
He is now working in a supermarket part-time, which is not enough to support his wife and 18-month-old-son.
An Essex Police spokesman said: “A man entered the store at about 5pm and placed an order for food.
“He left after being served and returned at about 7pm.
“He was verbally aggressive and assaulted the staff member, who suffered facial injuries.
“The suspect was described as being of Indian or Pakistani appearance, about 45 to 50 years old, and about 5ft 9ins tall.
“He was of large build, had short dark hair and wore a hat, sweater and jeans.”
Denise Townsend, associate chief nurse at Southend Hospital, said: “We are sorry that Mr Kabir is unhappy with the care he received.
“We would invite him to contact the hospital’s patient advice and liaison service so that we may discuss his concerns.”
