BUG #4435: pg_ctl start doesn't detach when run via SSH

The following bug has been logged online:

Bug reference: 4435
Logged by: Hal Black
Email address: black(at)ieee(dot)org
PostgreSQL version: 8.3.3
Operating system: Ubuntu Hardy 8.04.1 LTS
Description: pg_ctl start doesn't detach when run via SSH
Details:

When I run "pg_ctl start" via SSH, the database service starts, but it never
returns control to the shell. If I run the same command from an interactive
shell, it works as expected.

This is with or without the -w option. Here's an example commandline.

ssh root(at)example(dot)com "su -c '/home/appuser/local/bin/pg_ctl start -w -s -D
/home/appuser/postgresql_data' postgres"

This problem exists both when installed from source and when using the
postgresql installed via the debian package manager (of course using a
different path to the pg_ctl binary)