The use of handcuffs on detainees except for juvenile offenders is one of the police standard operating procedures (SOP), said Sentul police chief ACP Zakaria Pagan.

He said detainees would be handcuffed when they were taken out of the lock-up for security reasons and student activist Adam Adli Abdul Halim, who was arrested on Saturday for his involvement in a May 13 forum last Saturday, was no exception.

He was commenting on pictures of Adam Adli in handcuffs which went viral on social sites.

Kuala Lumpur police denied that the picture was taken at the Jinjang Central Lockup, Zakaria said in a statement.

- Bernama