Rapper detained in murder probe of Taiwanese influencer

A popular ethnic Chinese Malaysian rapper and filmmaker has been detained to assist police investigating the murder of a Taiwanese social media influencer.

Wee Meng Chee, popularly known as Namewee, surrendered to police early on Wednesday and would be placed under remand for six days, his lawyer Joshua Tay said.

Police said on Tuesday they were searching for Wee after they reclassified Hsieh Yu-hsin’s death as a murder following the discovery of unspecified new evidence.

Hsieh, 31, who had more than half a million followers on Instagram and also operated an OnlyFans account, was found dead in a hotel bathtub in Kuala Lumpur on October 22.

According to local media reports, police said Wee was the last person seen with her before her death.

Wee was briefly detained at the time and separately charged for drug possession and use, allegations he denied.

A former nurse, Hsieh was known as “Nurse Goddess” by her fans.

Police said she arrived in Malaysia on October 20 and was scheduled to stay for four days.

Police are waiting for the full autopsy and toxicology reports before releasing the official cause of her death.

Wee, 42, said he was deeply saddened by Hsieh’s death but denied any wrongdoing.

In an Instagram post after his surrender, he vowed to co-operate with the investigation to provide answers to the public and Hsieh’s family.

A provocative and outspoken artist, Wee has been arrested and questioned by police multiple times in the past over over his satirical takes on politics, race and religion in his music videos and movies.

He defends his right to artistic expression and says his videos use satire to highlight social issues in Malaysia.