KUALA LUMPUR - A Malaysian businessman who was bitten by a crocodile while playing golf has accepted a payout from the resort where he was attacked, reports said Thursday.

Hong Kee Siong said he was searching for a lost golf ball when he stumbled across the crocodile, which tried to drag him to a pond on the resort's 'Crocodile' course, named after the local wildlife.

Hong managed to escape by striking the creature on the head, but needed 38 stitches for wounds inflicted on his left leg during the 2004 attack.

The A'Famosa resort, near the historic port town of Malacca, agreed to pay Hong 43,000 ringgit (S$18,176) in compensation, state media said.

Resort managers said they were in the dark over the settlement, and defended the presence of crocodiles on the course.

'The court case was being handled by our insurance company and we were not consulted over the settlement,' A'Famosa general manager Allan Chee told AFP.

'We are very shocked when we read the news in the newspapers today, it affects our image. We are asking the insurance company to explain the matter to us and we are still waiting for their reply,' he added.

Chee said the golfer climbed down a 10-foot (three-metre) ladder into a pit to retrieve the golf ball despite 'caution' signs warning that crocodiles were about.