Businessman Amir Bazli Abdullah has agreed to withdraw his claim for damages over an alleged assault by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

In return, Ahmad Zahid who is also an Umno vice-president, also agreed to withdraw his counter-claim on Amir Bazli.

The parties reached an agreement over the matter after the two met in a mediation process which lasted for more than an hour at the Shah Alam High Court.

Ahmad Zahid was represented by lawyer Shamsul Bahrain while Karpal Singh appeared for Amir Bazli.

NONE However, Amir Bazli ( left ) met Ahmad Zahid before Selangor mediation head, Rohani Ismail who is a sessions judge here, without the presence of their counsel.

Shamsul told reporters that they agreed to this and the trial dates fixed for next month have been vacated.

"In terms of dollars and cents both parties agree to negotiate among themselves without the participation of lawyers," he said.

Karpal told reporters soon after that he did not know what transpired as Rohani ordered that the mediation be done between the two without the presence of the lawyers in chambers.

"I have insisted that in mediation cases, lawyers are allowed to be present. However, the Sessions judge continued not to allow us in," he said.

However, Karpal said this does not stop the prosecution from levelling an assault charge on the minister, which he had already called for.

First time

This is the first time that Ahmad Zahid had come to court on the matter. Amir Bazli filed the suit against Ahmad Zahid in 2007. In return, Ahmad Zahid filed the counter-claim in 2010.

The alleged assault on Amir Bazli took place in early 2006 when he was the deputy information minister.

Last month, the Federal Court ordered the matter to go for trial in August, after it refused to grant permission to hear Ahmad Zahid's appeal to strike out the suit.

Amir Bazli said it was all settled but he could not disclose anything.

Amir Bazli, in his statement of claim alleged sometime in early January 2006, the minister, with his son-in-law and others, took him from a petrol station near Bangi, where he was filling petrol, to Ahmad Zahid's place in Country Heights, Kajang.

There they assaulted him with a hard object, resulting in his nose and skull being fractured.

"As a result of the beating my left eye was swollen, and I could not open my eyes properly," he said in his statement of claim.

Ahmad Bazli also claimed that Ahmad Zahid had threatened to kill him that night and asked him to be placed in a gunny sack and saying "we will tanam (bury) you".

He was kept in Ahmad Zahid's house until 2am before being released. As a result of the injuries, he spent two weeks seeking treatment and subsequently he lodged a police report over the incident.

Counter-claim

Ahmad Zahid in his counter-claim and defence, claimed that Amir Bazli came to his place on his own free will.

He denied punching Amir Bazli and claimed the injury was a concoction. He further denied causing serious injury to Amir Bazli's face let alone a scar or even a mark.

The Umno vice-president further denied uttering the words that he would bury Amir Bazli and described it as scandalous. He also claimed it was false that he and his son-in-law had confined Amir Bazli.

Ahmad Zahid further claimed that his daughter is married to another person, and that Amir Bazli had abducted her and the couple's two-year-old child.

He also claimed the incident had been falsely reported in several news portals and Chinese newspapers.

Ahmad Zahid was seeking damages for considerable distress caused, libel, general damages for libel and other relief deemed fit by the court.