Chinese-Canadian ex-pop star Kris Wu has been jailed for 13 years after being discovered responsible of rape, a Chinese courtroom mentioned Friday.
Wu initially shot to fame as a member of the Okay-pop boyband EXO, earlier than leaving in 2014 to launch a profitable solo profession as a singer, actor, mannequin and selection present choose.
Nineteen-year-old scholar Du Meizhu final yr accused Wu of date-raping her when she was 17, leading to a barrage of public criticism and luxurious manufacturers dropping offers with him.
Wu was sentenced to “11 years and six months of imprisonment for rape”, the courtroom in Beijing’s Chaoyang district mentioned Friday, including he “was also sentenced to imprisonment of one year and 10 months for the crime of gathering people to commit adultery”.
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“It was found that the defendant Wu Yifan (Kris Wu) had forced sexual relations with three women at his residence from November to December 2020 when they were drunk and did not know or were not able to resist,”
the courtroom mentioned.
Wu will serve a 13-year time period earlier than being deported, it added.
He was additionally fined 600 million yuan ($84 million) for tax evasion, state information company Xinhua reported, citing Beijing’s tax authorities.
Wu “used a fake business to convert the nature of his income and falsely declare it, and evaded 95 million yuan of tax by concealing personal income through multiple domestic and overseas affiliated companies”,
Xinhua reported.
He additionally “underpaid 84 million yuan of taxes”, the information company added.
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Canada’s overseas ministry mentioned it was “aware that a decision was rendered” within the case, including that consular officers had been current for the decision announcement and have been “providing consular assistance to Mr. Wu and his family”.
A spokesperson declined to offer additional info “due to privacy considerations”.
Wu was beforehand one in every of China’s most bankable stars, however manufacturers together with Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, L’Oreal Men and Porsche suspended their partnerships with him over the case.
And extra victims spoke out on-line within the wake of the preliminary claims, accusing Wu’s employees of predatory behaviour together with inviting them to boozy karaoke events.
The hashtags “girls help girls”, “girls helping girls” and “girls help girls time” — the place ladies expressed solidarity with Du — have been censored from Chinese social media within the wake of the scandal.
The Weibo trending hashtag “the law is the lowest standard of morals” additionally racked up 830 million views, as customers complained in regards to the excessive authorized threshold required for victims to show sexual assault in courtroom.
#MeToo fallout
The saga round Wu evoked China’s embattled #MeToo motion, which noticed a wave of ladies come ahead in 2018 voicing experiences of sexual harassment — generally involving highly effective public figures.
Beijing moved decisively to suppress the feminist motion, arresting dozens of scholar activists in a present of its zero-tolerance strategy to these deemed potential threats to its management.
A landmark case introduced by screenwriter Zhou Xiaoxuan towards high-profile TV presenter Zhu Jun was dismissed final yr, with a Beijing courtroom additionally throwing out an enchantment this August.
And whereas tennis star Peng Shuai’s allegations of sexual assault towards a senior Communist Party politician sparked a global outcry final yr, her claims have been swiftly censored inside China.
Peng later denied making the accusation.
Celebrity crackdown
Wu’s case was on the centre of a sweeping authorities crackdown on celeb tradition that took maintain final summer season.
Around the identical time as his arrest, high actress Zheng Shuang was hit with a $46 million tax evasion high-quality whereas references to movie star Zhao Wei have been wiped from video streaming websites.
Authorities mentioned they have been concentrating on unhealthy values and “abnormal aesthetics”, ordering broadcasters to chop actuality expertise exhibits and cease giving airtime to “sissy” males and “vulgar influencers”.
Critics have argued that the strikes additionally aimed to boost the Communist Party’s ideological management and curb exterior influences that might pose a menace to its rule.
© Agence France-Presse
