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A well-known Malaysian rapper and film-maker, Namewee, has been arrested in relation to the alleged murder of a Taiwanese woman in Kuala Lumpur.
Hsieh Yu-hsin, 31, a former nurse turned internet celebrity who posted under the name Nurse Goddess, was found dead in a hotel room on 22 October. Police this week reclassified her death as murder, after unspecified new evidence emerged.
Malaysian media reported that Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, called emergency services after finding Hsieh unresponsive in a hotel room bath tub.
Police said they found pills believed to be ecstasy, and Namewee was arrested that day. He was charged with illegal drug possession and released on bail. However, he was detained again on Wednesday in order to assist police with the murder investigation after Hsieh’s death was reclassified. Police did not detail the new evidence, and told local media that it would take three months to complete the toxicology and autopsy reports.
Namewee’s lawyer Joshua Tay said he would be held on remand for six days.
In a statement posted online before his second arrest, Namewee denied any drug-taking, and said he was going to the police “to fully cooperate with the investigation to give the public and the deceased’s family an explanation”. He also denied any wrongdoing in relation to Hsieh’s death.
In his post, Namewee also accused local media of sensationalism and “chasing shadows” and criticised emergency services, saying they took almost an hour to arrive at the hotel after he called them. He also claimed that unnamed others had attempted to blackmail him.
Namewee is a well-known artist in Malaysia, Taiwan and China, having courted controversy on numerous occasions with his political work. He has been blacklisted in China over songs criticising the authoritarian government and nationalist attitudes. In 2023 he was also banned from performing in Hong Kong. Early in his career, when he was studying in Taiwan, Namewee sparked backlash over a song parodying the Malaysian national anthem, and has since had his work censored over allegations he was criticising the Malaysian government, or Islam.
Hsieh was reportedly in Malaysia to discuss a commercial video directed by Namewee. Hsieh has previously featured in a Namewee-directed music video, for his song China Reggaeton in 2020. She was previously a nurse, before becoming a popular online figure, with more than 1.5 million followers across Instagram, X and OnlyFans.
A statement on Hsieh’s OnlyFans account, purportedly written by her assistant with the consent of Hsieh’s family, asked for fans and media to give them privacy and to “refrain from excessive speculation or commenting on social media”.
“I am deeply saddened by this heartbreaking news,” she wrote.
“In my eyes, Yu-hsin is not only a creative girl who loves photography, but also my boss and best friend.”
Taiwan’s ministry of foreign affairs (Mofa) said it had reached out to Hsieh’s family and informed them about the development. “Out of the concern of privacy, Mofa chose not to issue any public statements in response to the issue,” it said.
Additional research by Jason Tazu Kuan Lu and Lillian Yang
