Indonesia-born Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja is considering legal action against the police over Thursday's 'handcuff incident' where he was allegedly roughed by two police personnel at the Kuala Lumpur magistrate's court building while awaiting his bail to be posted.

His lawyer Gobind Singh Deo told malaysiakini that he will be writing an official complaint to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) over the incident where he claimed Sukma was unnecessarily handcuffed.

"I will also be seeking for an appointment with the IGP to express my outrage over the incident and to seek an explanation over the harsh conduct by his men against Sukma," he said when contacted.

"Once we get the IGP's explanation over the matter, I will then consult Sukma on whether to sue the police or not."

He said Sukma was distraught by the incident which resulted in his haste return to Jakarta Thursday night.

"I told him that he can sue the police but he told me that he only wanted to go home and will think about it later. He was very disturbed...it appeared to him as if someone is very unhappy with the recent development and is trying to teach him a lesson.

"He thought that he was going to be arrested under the Internal Security Act as had happened eight years ago."

The incident took place after Sukma, 45, claimed trial to a sodomy charge involving his adopted brother, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

It was the same charge that he had pleaded guilty to eight years ago and was subsequently sentenced to six months jail. It was later revealed that the guilty plea was made under duress following a series of torture and mistreatment while in remand.

On Wednesday, the Court of Appeal quashed Sukma's conviction and sentence which was deemed "manifestly unsafe". It then remitted the case to the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for a retrial.

The retrial is set to begin on Nov 6 and high-profile witnesses including Anwar and his former mentor-turned-nemesis former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad are expected to testify.

Mahathir had sacked Anwar - his then heir-apparent - in September 1998 over a series of allegations including corruption and sodomy. Anwar claimed that the charges were trumped up.

Highly improper

Gobind also said that the handcuff incident was improper and against normal practices.

"The law in regards to handcuff is very clear as in the case of C Ramanathan where the police may only handcuff if they have reasons to believe that the suspect may try to escape. If chances of escaping is remote, they can always handcuff him from the front.

"In this case, Sukma has been cleared by the Court of Appeal and was given a second chance to go for trial. He should not have been treated like a convict."

Relating Thursday's incident, he said the calm atmosphere in the court lockup where he and Sukma were awaiting for his bailor Rahim Mazlan to post his RM10,000 bail was wrecked when two policemen suddenly grabbed Sukma's arms.

"All of a sudden, two police personnel grabbed him in a rough manner and started handcuffing him from behind. I could see Sukma was panicking at the moment. Then they held the him by the arms out of the lock-up, almost dragging Sukma along."

He said the two policemen refused to answer their repeated questions.

"It angered me to see the way they had treated him. We tried to reason with them but they completely shut us out. That was why I had to shout to get their attention."

"The only answer given to us was Ini arahan sarjan (This is the sergeant's order). When I asked them what kind of order, they did not answer and continue to hastily escort Sukma to the court registrar office (where the bail documents were waiting to be signed).."

Gobind said the incident also showed the police's 'true colours'.

"The IGP had claimed that the police is changing for the better but obviously it remains mere lip service. It is also clear that the IGP have failed to command respect from his men who continue to ignore his calls for positive reform in the force," he asserted.