Long, long time ago, when Singapore was just a small Malay fishing village under the reign of a king, a terrible crisis had befallen upon the island. Without any warning, swarms of swordfish with long and sharp upper jaws emerged from the waters and thrust themselves at the many fishermen working at sea. Villagers roaming along the coast were not spared, as more swordfish mercilessly leapt up upon the beach and attacked their targets.

Bright red blood stained the once pristine white sands of the beach. Numerous lifeless bodies of humans and swordfish were strewn all about the area.
"Singapore is attacked by swordfish! Singapore is attacked by swordfish!" yelled stunned witnesses who were saved from these attacks, running frantically into the village center. No one dared to go near the waters. No one knew the reason the creatures attacked.

The king of Singapore was taken aback by the news of the attacks. In his anxiousness, he went to the beach himself to find out if it were true. At a safe distance, he could not believe his eyes of the grotesque sight of blood and death on the beach. He was saddened that so many of his people had been sacrificed in the attacks.

"Singapore is in danger! I must do something about this," thought the king. The king thought up of a plan. Thinking that it would save Singapore, he then passed a command to his people via his messenger.

"Hear all! Hear all! His highness commands all male villagers, warriors and fishermen alike, to prevent further swordfish attacks on Singapore by using their shanks as barriers along the coast."

It was the only thing that the king could think of in order to rid the swordfish, and his advisors could not think of any better way to defend the island.
Although reluctant, the villagers were very loyal to the king. The men set off with hopes that they would defend the village and their loved ones. They wield any weapons they had, all prepared to hack the creatures coming their way. And so, a human fence lined the coastline, valiantly facing the sea.
They were in fact, facing death.

No matter how long the courageous men tried to endure, the swordfish kept coming and piercing themselves into the men's shanks, thighs and abdomens. Even more people died. The swordfish were persistent. Without a doubt, the king's plan had failed.

A boy by the name of Hang Nadim knew that the village would meet its doom if this continued. The intelligent boy had a plan to dispose of the threat. Without hesitating, he went to face the king.

"Forgive me, your highness, thousands of forgiveness. I have come to plead you to stop your people from using their shanks as a barrier, for even more of them would die if this goes on," explained Hang Nadim calmly as he faced the troubled king in his palace.

"What boy? Do you have a better plan?" asked the king of Singapore.
"Yes, your highness. Instead of using your peoples' shanks, we could use the stems of banana plants to build a wall of barrier along the coast. When the swordfish attack, their upper jaws would get stuck into the stems, and that way, your people would be able to slash these trapped swordfish dead," suggested Hang Nadim.

The king was impressed that the boy could come up with such a brilliant plan. The boy's plan was carried out immediately. Villagers began cutting banana plant stems and then planting them onto the ground side by side along the coastline to make a barrier. As planned, the attacking swordfish got themselves stuck in the stems and they were killed. In the end, the menace was totally wiped off.

The king was so grateful to Hang Nadim for coming up with the idea that saved Singapore. For this, Hang Nadim was given a special token of appreciation. He became known as the savior of Singapore.

However, the tale doesn’t end here.

There was a conspiracy among the king’s advisors. Knowing how smart Hang Nadim was at such a young age, the advisors were worried that he would grow up to be an even smarter man who would be appointed to take over any of their places as a new advisor. They want Hang Nadim dead.

“Hang Nadim cannot live, or our positions would be at stake! I will convince the king to dispose of him!” said one of the advisors.

So the advisor went to the king and tried to convince him that if Hang Nadim lives, he would grow to be smarter than the king, and that he would then overthrow the king and take over the throne. The king was doubtful of killing Hang Nadim at first, but after a while, he saw some truth in what the advisor said and gave in.

It is said that there are two versions how Hang Nadim died. One was that he was given a death sentence by the king. The king had Hang Nadim’s hands and feet bound with heavy metal chains and then had him thrown into the sea. The second version was that he paid his men to murder the boy by slitting his throat with a dagger while the innocent Hang Nadim was asleep in his hut.