According to a widely circulated story reported by Taiwanese media, including Next Apple and ET Today, a person, purportedly to be the tour guide who received Hsu's family, claimed that the late star had displayed symptoms of coughing and asthma on Jan. 29.

A doctor in Thailand has advised Thai tourists to reconsider their travel plans to Japan following the death of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu due to influenza complicated by pneumonia.

The news was confirmed on Feb 3 by her younger sister, famed Taiwanese host Dee Hsu. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Barbie Hsu, better known as "Da S" which means "Big S," caught the flu when she visited Japan with her family during the Lunar New Year, according to her sister.

Taiwanese actor Barbie Hsu, one of the most prominent stars in the Chinese-speaking world, has died of a flu-related illness at age 48, Taiwan’s official Central News Agency reported Monday, citing her sister.