A Chinese court on Friday sentenced Chinese-Canadian pop star Chris Wu to 13 years in prison on charges that included rape.
Beijing’s Chaoyang District Court said Wu received 11 years and six months for raping three women in 2020 and one year and 10 months for “the crime of gathering a crowd to engage in sexual debauchery” for a 2018 event. , in which he and others assaulted two women who had been drinking.
The court said the three victims in the rape case were also drunk and unable to give consent.
It said a combined sentence of 13 years had been agreed upon and Wu would be immediately deported after serving his time.
“According to the facts … the nature, circumstances and harmful consequences of the crime, the court has rendered the above decision,” the court said in an online statement.
A Canadian diplomat was in court to hear the sentence, the release said.
Fine for tax evasion
Wu was also fined 600 million yuan ($110 million Cdn) for tax evasion by massively understating his income from performances, advertisements and other sources of income.
The June trial of the 32-year-old former member of the South Korean-Chinese boy band EXO was closed to the public to protect the victims’ privacy.
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Wu has been detained since August 2021 while police conduct an investigation in response to comments online that he “repeatedly enticed young women” to have sex, according to a police statement at the time.
That same year, a teenage girl accused him of having sex with her while she was drunk. Wu, known in Chinese as Wu Yifan, denied the accusation.
The teenager then said seven other women contacted her to say Wu had lured them with promises of jobs and other opportunities. She said some were under 18.
Rape is punishable by 3 to 10 years in prison, although in exceptional cases, harsher sentences can be imposed, up to and including death. The second charge Wu faces is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Wu grew up in Guangzhou, China and in Vancouver. He left EXO in 2014 after being a member for two years to pursue a solo career in China.
During his detention, Wu was the ambassador of 15 brands, including Bulgari, Lancome, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, all of which promptly cut ties with him.
Support is available for anyone who has been sexually assaulted. You can access crisis lines and local support services through this Government of Canada website or Canadian Association to End Violence Database. If you are in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911.
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