It was Sunday, April 16, the day after "Black 14", when KeADILan vice-president Tian Chua was arrested at a restaurant while having lunch with a lawyer friend, CHEAH KAH PENG. Cheah recounts to malaysiakini , in two parts, the unfolding events of a dark day in the life of a Malaysian lawyer.

At about 2.30pm, Chua went to Petaling Jaya police station in an unmarked police car, escorted by one Inspector Baharuddin and his team. Ten minutes later, I arrived at the station, and was ushered into the police building where Chua was held. There were a few photographers, presumably from the press, outside taking photos of Chua.

Chua waves from inside Petaling Jaya police station.

I saw Chua at the corridor, and I introduced myself to his "attendants" (presumably police officers) as his lawyer. I then asked for instructions to the washroom and left Chua with his "attendants".

From the washroom, I could hear noises. The washroom was about four metres from Chua. Sensing something might have gone wrong, I came out from the washroom quickly.

I saw an overweight man in his 40s (he subsequently told me he was ASP Nasir after I was arrested) and a few other men milling around Chua. All these men were in plain clothes. There were no badges, no serial numbers, no "Kad Kuasa" shown to Chua or me. Save the fact that we were inside a police building, there was no way for us to identify them as police officers.

Clearly, the police officers around Chua had become abusive, even aggressive.

Some questions raced through my mind, such as: Why so much aggressiveness with these police personnel? Were they trying to provoke my client into doing something? Would my client be forced to say something under duress or coercion? Would my client be attacked?

Chua sought to reason with these unidentifiable policemen. He expressed worries about being beaten by them. I was also seriously worried about Chua's safety if he was alone with these men, who apparently were on the verge of losing control. The officers had now begun to yell at both of us.

In my opinion, ASP Nasir and a few of his men were in no condition to execute a proper and civil police investigation. Particularly, in such an atmosphere of agitation and aggression, any information supplied by any witness would be tainted with the colour of coercion and duress.

Sensing that the police officers may lose control, I decided to calm them down. That was for self-preservation. For if they were going to be unreasonable, Chua and I would have more to lose. I carefully lowered my voice and slowed down each and every word I said.

I raised my arms in slow motion (for fear that any normal move may invoke pretext for them to strike me), and said something to this effect: "Calm downcalmdown, let's talk slowly and nicelykita cakapbaik, baik"

Three police officers push Chua (hidden behind door) while Cheah (facing camera) is caught in the fray.

That did not appease the police officers. They wanted Chua to go inside a small room. As Chua (standing just in front of me) was expressing genuine worries about being shut inside a small room with them, there was a sudden and extreme violent push by the police.

The push was so abrupt and violent that it caused my client to lose balance. Part of Chua's body somehow got caught by door frame. That, I thought, would be painful. He was then half in and half out of the "little room".

Imagine the shock, pain and horror my client must been through. If memory serves me well, it was ASP Nasir who added again a second violent push (evidentially caught in camera) which forced my client's fly-weight body into the room.

"Please don't push him! Please don't push him!" I shouted.

I was so worried then that I must admit I couldn't remember whether I pleaded in English or in Bahasa Malaysia. Eventually Chua was forced into the room while a few unidentified officers rushed to restrain him and slammed the door behind them so hard that the whole corridor that I was still in was filled with the echo of that horrendous sound.

Then there were loud and sharp commands of the police officers: "Tutup pintu! Tutup pintu!Lock the door! Lock the door!"

Police officers violently shove Cheah (not in the photo) away from the interrogation room.

The next series of sound I heard was the rapid sound of scuffling inside that little room where my client was. Then before I could react or do anything, I felt both of my upper arms gripped, pushed to my back by the police officers and violently nudged away from that room.

The momentum caused by that push forced my body to travel the distance of approximately three to four metres. I nearly fell.

I was to discover subsequently (approximately an hour later in lock up) that my left upper arm suffered four dark bruises resembling the pressures made by four fingers exerting force over it. On my right upper arm, near to the elbow, I sustained a small cut resembling a finger nail laceration.

(I took photographs of these injuries and was advised to go to General Hospital for treatment, injection, and documentation within 24 hours. I waited for four hours at the hospital's accident and emergency room for treatment and the doctor on duty strongly advised me to get a Tetanus injection.)

Because I heard the rapid sound of scuffling inside the little room which Chua was in, my imagination ran wild. I was immensely troubled by the thought that my client might have been beaten up, knowing full well that there were precedents.

Then there was more yelling from ASP Nasir. He barked at me and asked me to produce my identification card. He, on the other hand, had not produced any of his identification to me.

Cheah ordered to show his I.C card after he was arrested.

ASP Nasir then said that he was going to charge me for obstruction. At that point, I thought that was really ridiculous because all the while I was totally passive (no shouting, no fast movement, only pleadings for calm from us).

We were the ones being yelled at, intimidated and physically assaulted by pushing and jostling inside the police building. I was by then shouted at again to go into another waiting room. I was afraid and complied with the order. That was where ASP Nasir made his police report. I was rudely commanded to "Sit down!"

Many times when I was referred to amongst the police officers, it was through contemptuous reference and pointing by fingers. ASP Nasir took about 15 to 20 minutes to write his report. He was breathing heavily as he wrote.

That process was on a few occasions interrupted by the ringing of his mobile phone in which he answered with phrases such as ""Ya, Tuan, ya, Tuan" or "Ya, Dato, ya, Dato" I can only assume that he was reporting to his superior about the developments.

I can also hear him reporting about the arrest of my client and my arrest, referred to as Tian Chua's lawyer.

Other police officers kept coming into the room and spoke rudely to me. I would not be exaggerating if I say they were challenging me. That included an Inspector Baharrudin who was quite friendly before but changed his tune after the pushing incident. However, to be absolutely fair, Inspector Baharrudin was not among those who pushed my client or me.

One other police officer entered and shouted abuse at me. When I mentioned that someone at the police station corridor had pushed me, and that he was at the corridor at the time, he challenged me if I could identify the "pushers". I said I was pushed abruptly from behind, but only three or four of them were there, and it was two or three of them who did it.

Then at that point I asked him for his identification and name because I wanted to record down the name of the suspect perpetrators. But he immediately walked out of the room.

I asked another police officer who witnessed the above conversation. I asked him for the name of his colleague, but he too walked away. As he walked out, he said: "You can I.D. us in the identity parade if you want."

If this was the case, would it be too vexatious for me to ask: Now who were really the one obstructing the cause of justice here? The police or me?