China Jails Chinese-Canadian Pop Star Kris Wu for 13 Years on Rape Charges

Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu sentenced to 13 years of prison for rape in China

• Chinese-Canadian celebrity was embroiled in a major scandal
• Wu’s case helped galvanize an embryonic #MeToo movement

Beijing court finds Chinese-born singer raped three women in November and December 2020

A Chinese court in Beijing sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, to 13 years in jail after finding him guilty of sexual offenses, including rape, the court said in a post on its official Weibo account.

Wu rose to fame as a member of popular Korean-Chinese pop group EXO, then as a solo act after he left the band in 2014.

The Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing stated that between November 2020 and December 2020, the singer raped three women at his residence while ​the women were unable, or did not know how, to resist due to alcohol intoxication; ​and in ​July 2018, he along ​with others​, organized two women to engage in “promiscuous activities” ​while intoxicated at his residence, the court stated

.The court also found him guilty of the crime of assembling a crowd to engage in sexual promiscuity in July 2018, it said.

The Canadian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, though state media said its officials had attended the sentencing.

Wu was also ordered to pay 600m yuan (£69m) for hiding personal income and other tax-related offences, the tax bureau said.

Wu evaded 95m yuan of tax from 2019 to 2020 by hiding personal income through domestic and foreign affiliated enterprises, and underpaid taxes of 84m yuan, authorities said.

At the time of his detention, Wu was an ambassador for 15 brands, including Bulgari, Lancôme, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, all of which immediately severed ties with him.

The court said Wu would be deported, although lawyers in China have said such deportations typically take place after completion of the sentence.