TAIPING: A "nasi campur" (mixed rice) seller has been hospitalised following a scuffle with a customer who was unhappy at being "over-charged" for two packs of rice.

The trader, Abu Bakar Jaafar sustained a broken finger in the 5pm incident on Tuesday at a night market in Simpang.

Abu Bakar said it all started when the customer's wife was charged RM7 for two packs of the rice.

"The technician’s wife took out an empty pack and filled it with plain rice, four scoops of "sambal petai ikan bilis" and a slice of fish which cost RM4," he said from his bed at the Taiping Hospital.

"She took another empty pack and filled it with rice and scoops of "rendang kerang" and my wife said it cost RM3."

The 58-year old who also suffers from hypertension and diabetes added his wife Hamidah Omar, 48 had earlier informed the woman that the price of plain rice was RM1 because of the increasing prices.

However, the technician's wife refused to pay and started nagging alleging that they had overcharged her.

She then left the stall and left the packets of food behind.

Abu Bakar then approached the technician who was buying fruits at a nearby stall to explain what had happened.

"But the technician grabbed my neck instead, pushed me, causing me to fall and one of my fingers was fractured in the process," said Abu Bakar.

Police detectives who were in the vicinity broke off the scuffle and sent Abu Bakar to hospital for treatment.

This article was first published in The Star on May 16, 2008.