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Rapper Namewee Placed in Custody Amid Murder Investigation After Influencer Was Found Dead in Hotel
Malaysian rapper Namewee was placed in custody on Monday, November 10 as part of a murder investigation looking into the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh in a Kuala Lumpur hotel room.
Namewee, 42, handed himself over to police on November 5 after he was named a “person of interest” in Hsieh’s death, according to CBS News.
Hsieh was found dead in a bathtub at a high-end hotel in the Malaysian capital at the age of 31 on October 22. Hsieh, who was also known as Hsieh Yu-hsin, was in Malaysia to discuss a commercial video Namewee was directing, her social media manager told the BBC.
While her death was initially labeled as a “sudden death report,” it was changed to a murder investigation. Police said they wanted to question Namewee, who they believed was the last person Hsieh saw before her death.
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Namewee has denied any wrongdoing and he previously said “the truth will speak for itself” in an Instagram post in early November.
The rapper’s lawyer, Joshua Tay, told AFP that “the investigation is still ongoing and this is why the police is asking for an extension of the remand,” which the court granted for three more days.
Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, contacted emergency services around midnight on October 22 after he found Hsieh unresponsive in the bathroom, according to Malaysian media.
He was arrested that same day after authorities found nine blue pills believed to be ecstasy in the hotel room, per the BBC. Namewee denied he used drugs, though police said he tested positive for several substances including amphetamines, methamphetamine, ketamine and THC, according to the BBC.
On November 10, Namewee pleaded not guilty to the drug charges and he was released on bail.
Namewee is a well known hip-hop artist, actor and filmmaker in China and Taiwan.
He has been known for causing controversy. He was blacklisted by Beijing in 2021 after he wrote a song in Mandarin that poked fun at Chinese nationalists. Namewee has seen success with the song, which has hit more than 30 million views on YouTube.
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Namewee also came under fire in 2007 when he released “Negarakuku,” which is a parody of the Malaysian national anthem that included flippant lyrics.
Nearly a decade later, Namewee was detained in 2016 for several days after he allegedly insulted Islam over a video that was partially filmed inside a mosque in the Muslim-majority country.
Two years later, he was arrested again for allegedly insulting Islam with a Lunar New Year video. The controversial clip featured dancers wearing dog masks and performing suggestive moves, according to CBS News. It’s not clear if he faced any charges following the past arrests.
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