The commodity has proved true to its name. Singapore’s business elite may have been seduced by a 33-year-old nickel trader. Ng Yu Zhi is now facing charges for fraudulent trading.
The only commodity that is named after the Devil has cast its spell on this city-state. The name nickel is from the German term kupfernickel, which means devil’s copper.
In the 1400s, miners mistook nickel for copper ore. They were fooled by the red colour. The disgruntled miners blamed Old Nick — a pseudonym for the Devil.
