THE Scotsman who escaped death after being shot at point black range in the chest just hours before his wedding in a Philippines robbery has pledged: "I intend to have fun in my second life".

Tarek Naggar was shot and critically injured before his wedding day on the beautiful island of Cebu. The bullet ricocheted off his ribs, missed his heart by millimetres and ended in a lung.

Last night, after he was released from hospital, still with tubes in both sides of his chest and staples on the wound, he told the Sunday Herald. "Obviously I am here for a reason. Whatever that is I am keen to find out."

He had spent more than a week in hospital since the shooting in the early hours of Friday July 21 in which thieves stole his wallet but netted just £10. He was delivered to the emergency room on a motorised rickshaw after the ambulance failed to turn up.

His best man, Chris McLaughlin, a friend of Naggar's since their schooldays in Milngavie, witnessed the shooting as did Tarek's fiancee Angie Bacaron, who is from the island. More than 150 guests had flown in from all over the world to attend the wedding.

Medical bills to the hospital and for the four doctors who were involved in his care have totalled £10,000. "We had to pay in cash, lump sums. The message was clear, 'no cash, nor more medicine, no more treatment'," McLaughlin said.

Naggar was meant to be released on Friday, but the necessary doctor did not turn up to sign the forms. It then transpired that the real reason for the delay was that more money was needed. "We had to pay around 150,000 pesos, about £2200," McLaughlin said. "But it turned out he was doing us a favour. If we had paid through the hospital there would have been a 30 per cent surcharge, about 700 quid extra."

Naggar, his bride-to-be and best man waited all day yesterday for the release to be signed-off. "Tarek was starting to lose the plot, and they were threatening to call security, which probably indicates he is getting better," McLaughlin said.

It was not until last night that the deal was done and Naggar was eventually released. But because there was no doctor to remove the drain tubes and the staples in his chest he will have to wait until this Friday for this to be done. After that all three intend to take a boat to a quiet island for recuperation and planning a rescheduled wedding.

Asked whether the British embassy in Manila had been helpful McLaughlin responded: "Not that I can tell. After the Foreign Office called them initially they picked their game up and called the hospital. But since them we've heard nothing."

The Philippines police also took their time to investigate the incident, not interviewing Naggar and Bacaron until a week after the shooting. "They have still not spoken to me," McLaughlin said. "They passed 15 photos of suspects to Angie on her phone and asked her to ask me if I recognised anyone. Two of them, one more than the other, looked likely. But because of the rough justice meted out here I wasn't going to say until I was one hundred per cent sure. The police still haven't asked me about it."

Friends and family have chipped in to help pay the medical bills and Naggar has used up his savings, A crowd funding appeal – gofundme.com/tareknaggar – had raised £4100.