A welcome voice in a sea of chaos

Choong has given briefings to global investigative agencies such as Interpol and to anti-terrorism officials from numerous countries, including the United States.

His assessment is troubling.

"Singapore is vulnerable -- it's very pro-West and surrounded by Muslim nations," he said. "Militants could cause environmental damage and cripple the world economy. What more could a terrorist ask for? Everything is there."

Choong came to the piracy reporting center in 1997, no stranger to the sea. As a former chief officer and merchant marine, the soft-spoken Chinese-Malay, who grew up here, knows the fear that pirate attacks inspire.

A religious man who doesn't drink or smoke, he maintains a coolly professional anger against sea robbers and bandits who torture, kidnap and kill his fellow seamen. His employer, the International Maritime Bureau, is part of the Paris-based International Chamber of Commerce, whose fight against piracy is mandated by the United Nations.

From his 35th-floor office in a Kuala Lumpur high-rise 100 miles from the choppy waters of the strait, Choong keeps a bunkered-down mentality, always ready for the next pirate attack. The walls of his reception area are covered with world maps that bear red pins to mark the latest plunders.

Choong's purview is worldwide, from the troubled waters off Somalia and Bangladesh to the ungoverned South China Sea, but the Strait of Malacca is his most constant headache.

His role is not to make arrests or conduct criminal post-mortems after attacks. Rather, he runs a sort of 911 service for seaborne vessels under siege. Through daily situation reports, his agency offers vessels an early-warning system, giving crews a heads-up that they are entering waters with recent pirate activity.

He has also developed a network of informants, shipyard workers and fishermen who peddle tips to help track down hijacked ships. Many contacts are criminals, so Choong takes precautions: He's never photographed. Some family members do not know his job. He changes his route to work.

In delving into Asian organized crime syndicates, he and his team meet shadowy characters in big-city airports and dense jungles.

He wants information and he's willing to pay, money that comes from ship owners and insurers. "We tell our informants we can't guarantee their safety -- and some do get killed. There's nothing we can do about that," he said.