Malaysia’s Health Ministry has denied claims by local singer/rapper Namewee that an ambulance took almost an hour to arrive at the scene where Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh was found unresponsive at a KL hotel.
In response to enquiries by China Press, health officials clarified that the ambulance dispatched to the hotel on Oct 22 arrived within 26 minutes, not close to an hour as alleged.
Ambulance dispatched within 2 minutes
According to the statement, an ambulance from Kuala Lumpur Hospital was deployed at 12.30pm following an emergency call.
It arrived at the hotel on Jalan Conlay at 12.56pm, where paramedics began attending to the 31-year-old influencer.
Officials stressed that the response time was swift.
The ambulance was dispatched within 2 minutes after receiving the emergency call, and it arrived at the scene in 26 minutes,” the ministry told the newspaper.
They added that Namewee’s assertion of a nearly one-hour delay was inaccurate.
Hsieh was in Malaysia for work when she was found dead in a five-star hotel room on Oct 22, a tragedy that quickly sparked widespread discussion online.
The case intensified when police revealed that Namewee was at the scene, where officers allegedly discovered suspected drugs in his possession.
On Oct 24, Namewee was charged at the Kuala Lumpur Magistrates’ Court with drug possession and consumption under Section 15(1)(a) of the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952.
He pleaded not guilty and was released on RM4,000 bail.
Namewee later took to social media to deny taking drugs and expressed sorrow over Iris’s death.
