A deportee arriving in Tonga on a private aircraft  from Australia last week was escorted by police officers, and reportedly in handcuffs, when he disembarked at Fua'amotu International Airport on May 22, before he became a free man.

The Acting Police Commissioner Taniela Faletau, said the information he had received was that the Tongan man, was deported from Australia to Tonga on immigration matters.

He said that Australia has a policy that upholds the privacy of these individuals and they respected that.

"But since he is now in Tonga, he is a free man, and the police do not have any power to detain him. The police will only gather information on whether he has any family in Tonga and we are working with other groups like churches and the private sector to assist him in restarting his life in Tonga," he said.

He said that some people at the airport were intrigued to see the man escorted to Tonga on a private aircraft by police officers, "but that is standard procedure for Australia," he said.