A court in Beijing has sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Chris Wu to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to crimes including rape, just over a year after his arrest in China, where he was born and built a lucrative career.
The Chaoyang District Court said investigations showed that from November to December 2020, Wu, also known as Wu Yifan, raped three women.
“Wu Yifan took advantage of three drunk women … in his home,” the court said on its official WeChat account.
A former member of K-pop group Exo, the superstar returned to China in 2014 to pursue a solo career.
Wu was detained in Beijing on July 31, 2021, after an 18-year-old Chinese student publicly accused him of soliciting her and other girls, some under the age of 18, to have sex with him.
At the time, the student told the media that Wu lured her to have sex when she was 17 after plying her with alcohol.
The court also found him guilty of the offense of gathering a crowd to engage in sexual debauchery in July 2018, the release said.
The Canadian embassy in Beijing did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment, although state media said its officials attended the sentencing.
Wu was also ordered to pay 600m yuan (£69m) for evading personal income and other tax offences, the tax bureau said.
Wu evaded 95 million yuan in taxes from 2019 to 2020 by concealing personal income through domestic and foreign affiliates and underpaid 84 million yuan in taxes, authorities said.
During his detention, Wu was the ambassador of 15 brands, including Bulgari, Lancôme, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, all of which immediately cut ties with him.
The court said Wu would be deported, although lawyers in China said such deportations usually take place after a sentence is completed.
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