Hong Kong  - A Hong Kong golfer is suing a fellow player for 65 million Hong Kong dollars (8.3 million US) after being hit on the head by a wayward shot, a news report said Tuesday.

Computer expert Alan Deakins, 40, claims he has been unable to work since receiving head injuries in the incident on Christmas Eve 2006 at the former British colony's upmarket Clearwater Bay Golf and Country Club.

Deakins, who works for an international bank, said he was walking along the fairway of the 13th hole when we was struck on the head by a golf ball shot from the 14th hole, said the report in The Standard newspaper.

In a statement filed in the High Court, he alleges negligence on the part of Humphrey Leung Kwong-wai, chief executive of microchip company Solomon Systech, for causing his head injury, who was playing golf at the time.

At a pretrial hearing in the High Court Monday, Deakin's lawyer said his client had been left with health problems including tinnitus, a condition in which a person hears constant ringing in the ears.

"Mr Deakins' medical treatment is not cheap. I'm afraid his life is ruined. He cannot work and will never work again. It's very sad," said his lawyer.

Leung has disputed the claim for damages.

The court will conduct a site visit at the gold club next month, which will be followed by a second pretrial review in January.

In 1999, a woman caddie was awarded 89,000 Hong Kong dollars (11,500 US dollars) after she was struck in the mouth by a golf ball shot from the golfer she was helping at the Hong Kong Golf Club. (dpa)