Monday 21 September 2009

Royal battle brews in Malaysia

Negeri Sembilan princess wants Johor prince charged for allegedly assaulting her son

2 comments:

Guanyu said...

Royal battle brews in Malaysia

Negeri Sembilan princess wants Johor prince charged for allegedly assaulting her son

By Carolyn Hong
18 September 2009

KUALA LUMPUR: A royal feud between two Malaysian princes became public yesterday when a Negeri Sembilan princess demanded that a Johor prince be charged in court for holding her son at gunpoint following a bar brawl.

Tunku Dara Naquiah, daughter of the late Negeri Sembilan ruler Tuanku Ja’afar, also demanded RM50 million (S$20.4 million) from the Johor royal house for injuries inflicted on her son, Tunku Nadzimuddin.

The princess said her 37-year-old son ended up with a broken nose while his friend Shamshuddhuha Ishak, 40, was beaten unconscious.

The Negeri Sembilan family held a press conference yesterday to call attention to the case, claiming that the authorities had taken no action for 11 months. The brawl took place in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 25 last year.

Tunku Nadzimuddin, who was present at the press conference, charged that the Raja Muda of Johor, Tunku Ismail, had hit him in the face and pointed a gun at him. Tunku Nadzimuddin, also known as Jamie, said the Johor prince also ordered his bodyguards to beat up his friends.

Tunku Dara Naquiah said: ‘I just want justice to be done. This is using a gun, and I don’t believe that we should be carrying guns in this country.’

Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail, in a statement yesterday, said that 41 people had been questioned in connection with the incident but added that he had to exercise care and caution before charging anyone. He said that he understood there were attempts to resolve the matter amicably between the royal houses, emphasising however that this should not prejudice the police investigations or the work of the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Tunku Nadzimuddin said the incident began after 1am on Oct 25 last year at the glitzy Heritage Mansion club.

He was there with his then girlfriend Nur Azini Kamal, 32, who is now his wife, and friends.

Tunku Ismail was also there with his friends.

Tunku Nadzimuddin said a scuffle broke out between Tunku Ismail’s group and another party, and his friend, Mr. Shamshuddhuha, was hit on the head by a bottle.

He said that his friends were assaulted by people who claimed to be the Johor prince’s bodyguards.

‘Two of my friends were injured,’ he said. ‘The club bouncer stopped the attack.’

He said they left the club, and he was contacted by someone who said the Raja Muda wanted to see him to apologise. That was after 3am.

They went to the nearby Crowne Plaza Hotel. Tunku Nadzimuddin said a few of them were forced into the lift, while the rest - including his girlfriend - were held in the lobby.

‘Once in the lift, Tunku Ismail, who was armed with a gun, viciously hit me on the head and face repeatedly,’ he said. ‘He also held the gun in a threatening manner, and pointed it to my head.’

Mr. Shamshuddhuha, who was also at the press conference, said he was beaten unconscious and dragged into a room. Tunku Nadzimuddin said he was forced into the same room on the 25th floor. He claimed that the Johor prince held the gun to his head until he left about 15 minutes later.

Guanyu said...

The Negeri Sembilan prince said they were bleeding, and held on for about 45 minutes until his mother and his uncle, Tunku Nadzaruddin, rescued them with help from four policemen after Ms. Nur Azini called her. Tunku Nadzimuddin said he and Mr. Shamshuddhuha lodged police reports soon after, and were treated at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.

He insisted that the attack was unprovoked, saying that he did not know the Johor prince.

The Negeri Sembilan royal family may file a civil suit against the Johor prince.

Tunku Ismail has denied all the allegations. His lawyer, Datuk Shafee Abdullah, told The Straits Times that the ‘aggressors’ at all times were from the Negeri Sembilan side. He also said there was never any ‘bodily contact’ between the Raja Muda and anyone on the other side.

The Johor prince will wait until after Ramadan to issue a statement out of respect for the holy month, according to Mr. Shafee.