one o'clock PM
This was the cargo , and had nothing to do with what the passengers had . The captain continued : -- `` At Singapore we took in forty-two Chinese passengers , who came on board the morning we left . Our Singapore agents had received a telegram from Hong Kong , warning them to be careful of what passengers I took . After leaving Singapore , all went well until about half-past one o'clock PM , on the 8th inst , when near the Faracel Reefs . The chief officer then came and told me that the Singapore Chinese passengers were pirates , and intended to set fire to and plunder the ship . In consequence of this , I went with the chief officer and interpreter to examine the steerage passengers . I found a difficulty in separating the Singapore passengers from the Australians , as they were so mixed .