First and foremost, I'd like to thank the members of the council of the Penang Heritage Trust (PHT) and other friends for rallying behind my colleague and I in our hour of disbelief, shock, outrage, horror and stomach-churning disgust.

William (the colleague in question) and I were accosted at Brick Kiln Road and taken by force, at 8.30am yesterday, to the Patani Road police station simply because we had refused to show two plainclothes policemen our ICs without first hearing the reason behind their order. Shorn of their uniform, we were doubtful of their real identity despite being shown a pair of handcuffs and a gun. Hence the reluctance to comply.

Apparently the two cops didn't take too kindly to being questioned by two mere earthly mortals (who were, for all intents and purposes, more interested in minding their own business than inciting a riot) and started to rough us up verbally at full blast. At this point, a thought crossed my mind that one of them looked inebriated, and I could be dealing with a loudmouth psychotic imposter with delusions of power. I was about to ask him if he was indeed drunk, but something stopped me. In retrospect, I am glad I bit my tongue.

To cut a long story short, William and I ended up being handcuffed to each other and forced to squat on the floor of a cubicle in the Patani Road police station while a group of about four plainclothes cops rummaged through our bags and wallets. To say they were utterly disappointed at finding nothing subversive, volatile, explosive, hallucinogenic or pornographic is an understatement of stratospheric magnitude. We were hurled the sort of verbal abuses, threats and derogatory remarks that one might only hear at a sleazy bar full of ill-bred and vulgar drunks.

It got worse. In trying to incriminate us for a felony, the policemen in charge leafed through a computer-printed sheet of various crimes and having found none that could correspond to what William and I did, then proceeded to play 'this little piggy' by loudly suggesting that we get charged with 'enggan' (reluctance to cooperate), but hey! why not up the ante to 'menghalang' (obstruction to justice), and while we are at it, why not even charge them with rusuhan (rioting)!

Some two hous later, and feeling not any less revolted, and thoroughly violated, we were taken to another room on the third floor where our joint handcuffs were removed, and replaced with larger ones. More interrogation and verbal abuse followed, this time by the so-called 'A-Team' of the 'serious crime' division. Our particulars were then taken down. It was about this time that one of the policemen 'suddenly' thought of calling the PHT office.

It is sad indeed and quite despairing to note that in a country that prides itself on progress and creating great minds, an influential and powerful government body is run by a goon squad of Neanderthal oafs.

Go weep.