Malaysia reclassifies Iris Hsieh death as murder, Namewee linked

Malaysian police have reclassified the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh as a murder after her body was found in a hotel bathtub in Kuala Lumpur on October 22, authorities said. The case, initially recorded as a sudden death, was moved on November 4 to a murder investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code, Kuala Lumpur police chief Comm Datuk Fadil Marsus said.

Police said Hsieh, 31, was discovered at about 1:40 p.m. at a hotel on Jalan Conlay. Investigators are awaiting full autopsy and toxicology results and said further forensic findings are under review. Statements have been recorded from hotel staff and security personnel, and officers are collecting and reviewing closed circuit television footage and movements around the hotel and at nearby rail and airport terminals to reconstruct the victim’s final hours.

Authorities have identified the person last seen with Hsieh as someone they consider involved in the inquiry and are treating that individual as assisting with the investigation. Comm Fadil said investigators had initially been unable to locate the man, later identified as rapper Wee Meng Chee, known professionally as Namewee, but that the inquiry had...