[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
A Taiwanese influencer with more than 500,000 Instagram followers has been found dead in a hotel bathtub in Malaysia — and now police believe she was murdered.
The tragedy began at around 1:40 p.m. local time on October 22 when Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh (pictured above) was found dead in her hotel room, according to the Malaysian newspaper The Star. Hsieh, whose real name was Hsieh Yu-hsin, was just 31 years old at the time of her death and had become a very well-known internet personality in Southeast Asia.
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Her passing at the hotel along the city of Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Conlay street was first classified as a sudden death, per local media outlet New Straits Times. However, according to local police leader Datuk Fadil Marsus speaking to that outlet, the death was later re-classified as a murder.
According to The Star, famed Malaysian rapper Namewee (pictured above, inset) — a 42-year-old whose real name is Wee Meng Chee — was allegedly the last person to be seen with Hsieh. The New Straits Times also reported that claim, adding that he’d supposedly been in the victim’s hotel room at the time of the incident.
Per those outlets and BBC News, Namewee was arrested immediately after Hsieh’s death and charged with illegal drug use and possession after cops allegedly found him with pills believed to be ecstasy.
Police officials in Kuala Lumpur said Namewee tested positive for several illegal substances including amphetamines, methamphetamine, ketamine, and THC, and was remanded to jail for two days. But according to Marsus, Namewee was released after that:
“He was later arrested for alleged possession and use of drugs but was released after pleading not guilty to drug-related charges at the Jalan Duta Court on October 24.”
For his part, Namewee openly pushed back on claims of both the drug use and that he was possibly involved in Hsieh’s death.
In an IG post published on Sunday, he wrote (below, translated from traditional Chinese via Google Translate):
“I’ve seen another unsubstantiated news report, and I feel very dulan [Malay slang for “angry”]. I’ve also received a lot of concern, so I’m addressing everyone here all at once. I haven’t used or possessed drugs; at most, I’ve been drinking a lot lately. Believe it or not, the truth will come out once the police report is released, which should take another two or three months. We didn’t respond before because the case is still under investigation, and we couldn’t disclose details. We’ve also been blackmailed these past few days. If you want to continue this, we’re ready to fight to the end.”
And he continued:
“We are deeply saddened by Yu-shim’s sudden death. R.I.P. Ambulance is almost an hour late; I really don’t know what the 999 number is for. Calling to ask only resulted in being yelled at… knnbccb [Malay slang expression of frustration].”
Wow.
And then on Tuesday, Namewee returned to IG with another message, again loosely translated (below):
“I just arrived in Kuala Lumpur from Johor Bahru [a city at the southern tip of Malaysia]. I had previously scheduled an appointment with the police to file a report at the police station. I’m now at the station and will fully cooperate with the police investigation to provide answers to the public and the victim’s family. I will not flee. I voluntarily reported to the police on all seven previous arrest warrants; I have never tried to escape.”
As for Hsieh, her IG followers have taken to the comments sections of some of her recent posts to mourn her loss:
Meanwhile, Marsus told local media outlets that police investigators have taken statements from hotel staffers and are reviewing security camera footage in an attempt to trace Hsieh’s movements before her death. Per the New Straits Times, the police official said:
“Investigations are ongoing from all angles, including individuals who were last with the victim. We will review all movements of both the victim and the suspect to determine whether he is a suspect. It’s a comprehensive investigation examining every movement of both the victim and the person last seen with her.”
What a terrible tragedy — and it sounds like a very difficult investigation.
Our thoughts are with Hsieh’s family, friends, and loved ones. She was so young…
[Image via Namewee/Instagram/Iris Hsieh/Instagram]
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