Sino-Canadian singer and actor Kris Wu, a big star in China, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, in particular for rape, according to a sentence handed down on Friday, a case that had caused a scandal in the country.
The 32-year-old artist was sentenced to “11 years and six months’ imprisonment for rape,” according to the ruling by Beijing’s Chaoyang District Court, which added that “he was also sentenced to imprisonment for one year and 10 months for the crime of gathering people together for the purpose of committing adultery”.
Expelled from China at the end of his sentence
At the end of the sentence he will be expelled from China, the sentence also indicates. Canadian of Chinese descent, Kris Wu is a former member of the Sino-South Korean group EXO. He left the group in 2014 to pursue a solo career as an actor, singer and model. Last year he was accused by a 19-year-old Chinese student of raping her on a date when she was 17.
Following the outcry caused by this scandal, brands such as Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, L’Oréal and Porsche, of which he was an ambassador, suspended their collaboration with the singer.
Subsequently, other victims testified online to accuse Kris Wu’s team of predatory behavior, including invitations to drunken karaoke parties.
These allegations sparked the beginning of a #Metoo movement in China, but it has since stagnated. Fearing an uncontrolled mass movement, censors who control the country’s Internet quickly blocked hashtags and keywords related to cases of sexual harassment on social networks.
