'2 minutes to swim from JB to S'pore': Taiwan media claims while discussing Namewee's case

Prior to being detained on Nov. 5, Malaysian rapper Namewee went missing for a while which led to a manhunt launched by the police from Kuala Lumpur.

The 42-year-old rapper has since been remanded until Nov. 10 over the death of Taiwanese influencer Iris Hsieh.

Hsieh was found dead in a KL hotel on Oct. 22 and Namewee was the last person seen with her before her death.

The case was well known in Taiwan and widely reported by media.

The hosts of Taiwanese news programme 57 Breaking News discussed and speculated the whereabout of Namewee when the police were unable to locate him.

In a video uploaded on Nov. 5 on YouTube, the hosts claimed that Namewee could have possibly wanted to escape to Singapore from Johor Bahru due to the close proximity.

How close?

Just across a bridge, one host said before adding, "Even if you swim across, it will only take you two minutes."

The host also claimed that the security is "not very tight" at the borders.

Such remarks were ridiculed by netizens who left comments such as:

"This is simply nonsense, Singapore's border security is stringent, ok? If he wants to escape, he could go Thailand, can't be Singapore. Nonsense again, Taiwanese hosts' knowledge is so poor."

"Takes two minutes to swim across? You prove it.

"It shows the IQ of these people who claim that it takes two minutes to swim to Singapore [from JB]."

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