He returned seven years later to find the fledgling unit had collapsed and the boats were missing.

Undaunted, he started over again to rebuild the Unidade Policia Maritima Timor-Leste, now 44-strong.

SSI Partapjeet, 51, from the Police Coast Guard, was one of 21 officers who served in the second United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor Leste in the past year, returning just two weeks ago.

Speaking to The Straits Times, SSI Partapjeet recalled how he was designated chief of the marine unit on his first trip to what was then still East Timor in early 2001. Over nine months, he recruited and trained eight Timorese with basic maritime knowledge, and acquired four small patrol boats.

By 2005, the unit had 33 officers. But in April 2006, riots sparked by the dismissals of hundreds of striking soldiers badly affected the local police force, and caused the marine unit to crumble.

So it was back to square one for the father of three grown children, when he returned to the same unit for his second tour of duty in Timor Leste, this time as maritime mentor and coordinator.

Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.