TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Malaysian police are investigating rapper Namewee (黃明志) in connection with the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh (謝侑芯) in Kuala Lumpur, a case reclassified as suspected murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Kuala Lumpur police chief CP Datuk Fadil Marsus said Tuesday the case had been reclassified as murder, per Malay Mail. Police said Namewee would be detained the same day to assist the investigation, per Guang Ming Daily.
On Oct. 22, Hsieh, 31, was found dead in a bathtub at a luxury hotel in Kuala Lumpur, per The Straits Times. Namewee, 42, was present and was arrested after officers allegedly found pills suspected to be drugs on him.
Local reports said Namewee subsequently tested positive for several controlled substances, including amphetamines, methamphetamine, ketamine, and THC. He has pleaded not guilty to two drug-related charges and was released on bail, with a court date set for Dec. 18.
Namewee denied the allegations in a Facebook post on Sunday, calling the reports “rumors” and writing: “At most, I’ve been drinking more recently. Believe it or not, it’s up to you. The truth will come out once the police report is released, which should take another two to three months.”
He added that he had received a threatening letter that read, “If you want to keep playing, we’re ready to go all the way to the end.”
On Monday, Hsieh’s manager urged Namewee to clarify the events leading to her death and said he had never seen her consume drugs, per Malay Mail. Hsieh, known as the “Nurse Goddess” on social media after moving from nursing into modeling and content creation, built a large following online, per Kbizoom.
