Malaysian police have opened a murder probe into the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh, overturning their initial classification of her sudden death in a Kuala Lumpur hotel room, where she was reportedly discussing a film project with controversial rapper Namewee.
As doubts over the reasons for her death were raised by Hsieh’s close friends, Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus on Tuesday said his department had launched a murder investigation and called for witnesses to come forward.
“The case has been reclassified under Section 302 of the Penal Code, and further investigations are under way,” said Fadil, adding that details on the postmortem and other findings were still under review.
Statements have been recorded from hotel staff and security personnel, while police are also looking at movements around the hotel and from railways and the airport.
“The individual who was with the victim, we consider them involved for now and to assist with the investigations,” Fadil said, without naming Namewee.
