Ng Akew (Chinese:吳亞嬌; died 1880), was a Chineseopium smuggler and house owner inHong Kong. She was the central figure in a pirate scandal in 1849, which attracted great attention as acause célèbre.[1]
Ng Akew was aTanka slave of the American opium smugglerJames Bridges Endicott (1814–1870) who operated in Hong Kong; Ng Akew appears to have been involved in his business. Additionally, Ng Akew gave birth to 5 children fathered by Endicott.[2]
In 1849, he gave her a share of his cargo, which she sold along the coast from her own boats. She proved herself to be a capable tradesperson.[3]
When her boat and cargo was stolen by pirates, she traveled herself to the pirate base and negotiated compensation. Shortly after, an American ship was attacked and its cargo stolen by a pirate ship with Ng Akew present. The stolen cargo was later discovered in her own ship. It was assumed that she had negotiated with the pirates that the cargo from their next pirate attack would go to her as compensation for the cargo they stole from her. Her guilt could not be proven in court and she was therefore freed, but the case became famous in her time.
When Bridges Endicott retired to Macao he provided Ng Akew with property in Hong Kong, including two properties which, in 1852, he had placed in a trust for her.[4]
