A Malaysian court remanded popular rapper Namewee in custody on Monday, his lawyer said, part of a murder investigation looking into the death of a Tawainese influencer in a Kuala Lumpur hotel room.
Namewee, whose real name is Wee Meng Chee, handed himself over to police on Wednesday after he was named a “person of interest” in the probe into the death of Iris Hsieh, also known as Hsieh Yu-hsin, or “nurse goddess” to fans.
The 31-year-old influencer was found dead on October 22 in a bathtub at a high-end hotel in the Malaysian capital.
The probe was reclassified from a “sudden death report” to a murder case, with police saying they wanted to question Namewee, believed to have been the last person in Hsieh’s company.
Namewee, 42, has denied any wrongdoing and said in an Instagram post earlier this month that “the truth will speak for itself.”
His 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 he said the court granted for another three days.
Namewee, an outspoken hip-hop artist, actor and filmmaker, is hugely popular in China and Taiwan. He sings mainly in Mandarin.
Known for his trademark beanie and often wearing sunglasses, Namewee was blacklisted by Beijing in 2021 after he penned a Mandarin song poking fun at Chinese nationalists.
The track hit more than 30 million views on YouTube.
Namewee has also repeatedly been at the centre of controversy in Malaysia, which he hails from.
In 2007, he released “Negarakuku”, a parody of the Malaysian national anthem which sparked outrage due to its flippant lyrics.
In 2016, he was detained for several days for allegedly insulting Islam over a video partly filmed inside a mosque in the Muslim-majority country.
He was arrested again two years later again for allegedly insulting Islam with a Lunar New Year video that featured dancers wearing dog masks and performing suggestive moves.
AFP
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