"We don't get personal with them. That way we can live with it if they die."
Choong has been threatened. One source told him he could have anyone killed for $500. "I knew what he meant, and it scared me," he said. "But I tell these people that if you kill us, new people will be hired. If you bomb our headquarters, a new one will be built. You can't close us down."
Despite such threats, Choong's war against piracy goes on. Some battles end better than others.
ON that night in March 2005, when bandits attacked the Japanese tugboat Idaten and its construction barge, the Kuroshio, Choong urged the barge crew by phone to take pictures of the pirate vessels for evidence.
For nearly an hour, the pirates held the tugboat's captain, chief engineer and a crewman at gunpoint. Then, sometime before midnight, the armed invaders fled with the three men. As Malaysian marine police escorted the tug and barge to port, Choong alerted the ship owner to begin the delicate task of negotiating the release of the hostages.
Over the next few days, the owners, along with Japanese government officials, kept up a dialogue with the pirates.
Meanwhile, the hostages were spirited among fishing boats, and finally taken to the jungles of southern Thailand.
After the ship owners paid an undisclosed ransom that Choong described as "way above market value," the men were released, but the pirates escaped. The saga made headlines -- with scant mention of Choong. And that's the way he likes it.
"This time nobody died," he said. "Still, it's a dangerous game."
john.glionna@latimes.com
