China sentences Canadian pop star for rape

by time news

Chinese-Canadian singer Kris Wu, at an event in 2018. / Mark Blinch / REUTERS

Kris Wu will serve thirteen years in prison for abusing three young people, one of them a minor, and will later be expelled from the country

A Beijing court sentenced Chinese-Canadian singer and actor Kris Wu to thirteen years in prison on Friday. He has been found guilty of two crimes; one of rape, for which he has been sentenced to eleven years and six months in jail; and another for “meeting of people for the purpose of committing sexual promiscuity”, punishable by one year and ten months in prison.

In its ruling, the court also stated that Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, will be expelled from the country. Lawyers consulted by the Reuters agency maintain that such deportations usually take place after the sentence has been completed.

The 32-year-old artist was arrested on July 31 of last year after an 18-year-old girl publicly accused him of having abused her. The Chaoyang District Court maintains that the investigation showed that between November and December 2020 the 32-year-old had raped three women. At least one of them was a minor when the attacks took place. “Wu Yifan took advantage of three drunken women (…) in his house,” the magistrates state in their sentence.

A Canadian of Chinese descent, Wu carved out a lucrative career as a pop star. He was a member of the K-pop group EXO. He left the band in 2014 to embark on a solo career as an actor, singer, and model.

Last year he was accused by an 18-year-old Chinese student of date raping her when she was 17 after he “prompted” her to drink alcohol. Later, other victims testified to accuse Wu’s team of “predatory” behavior, particularly when they were invited to karaoke parties. When the scandal broke, which generated great controversy in China, Wu was an ambassador for fifteen brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, L’Oréal or Porsche. All of them suspended his collaboration with the singer.

Tax evasion

The singer has also been sentenced to pay 600 million yuan (83.77 million euros) for hiding personal income and other tax-related crimes. Wu evaded 12.7 million euros between 2019 and 2020 by hiding personal income through affiliated domestic and foreign companies, and underpaid taxes worth 11.3 million euros, according to the tax office.

The Canadian embassy in Beijing on Friday declined to comment to journalists, although several officials attended the sentencing.

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