sin-khehs

Updated: May 17, 2025

That the coolies are frequently successful in their attempts to escape is shown in the Report of the Chinese Protectorate, 160 being returned as 'absconded either when landing or at depot' in Singapore, and 101 at Penang, or about 1-3/4 per cent of the "unpaid passengers". On arrival at the depot, the coolies are probably surprised to find themselves securely confined in houses which look uncomfortably like prisons, and the passer-by may see the dirty and unkempt sin-khehs or "new men," as these emigrants are called, peering out between the thick wooden bars of the windows.

Elizabeth Wheeler Andrew - Heathen Slaves and Christian Rulers