Malaysian rapper Namewee detained in murder investigation of Taiwanese influencer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A popular ethnic Chinese Malaysian rapper and filmmaker was detained Wednesday to assist police in their investigation into the murder of a Taiwanese social media influencer, the rapper’s lawyer said.

Wee Meng Chee, popularly known as Namewee, surrendered to police early Wednesday and will be placed under remand for six days, said his lawyer Joshua Tay. Police said 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 Oct. 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 Oct. 20 and was scheduled to stay for four days. Police are waiting for the full post-mortem and toxicology reports before releasing the official cause of her death, local media reported.

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 cooperate with the investigation to provide answers to the public and Hsieh’s family.

“I hope that the investigation will be carried out thoroughly and with the utmost objectivity and fairness,” said Tay, the lawyer.

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.

In one of his earliest videos in 2007, he mocked Malaysia’s national anthem and was criticized for using racial slurs. In 2014, the government banned one of his films for allegedly portraying national agencies in a negative way.

In 2016, he was detained after Malay Islamic activists complained that a music video made by Wee titled “Oh My God,” which was filmed at various places of worship and used the word “Allah,” which means God in the Malay language, was disrespectful to Islam. Wee said the video was meant to promote religious tolerance and he was not charged.

Wee was detained again in 2018 over complaints about a music video featuring dancers in dog masks who performed what authorities said were “obscene” moves that insulted Islam and could hurt racial harmony. Dogs are considered unclean by Muslims, who account for about two-thirds of Malaysia’s 34 million people.

Wee said his criticism was aimed at hypocrisy and abuse of power, not religion or race.

Wee has also faced backlash in China. He released a song in 2021 with Australian singer Kimberley Chen that poked fun at Chinese nationalists and touched on sensitive topics, like Taiwan’s sovereignty. Beijing banned both singers from entering the country and removed their song from all Chinese platforms.