Embattled Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu, former member of K-pop boy band EXO, may be sentenced to at least 10 years in jail to life imprisonment if he is proven guilty of rape.
Last July 31, the Beijing police’s Chaoyang branch announced that Kris Wu was detained after he was suspected of rape.
“According to the online report that ‘Wu Yifan repeatedly deceived young women to have sex’ and other related circumstances, Wu (male, 30 years old, Canadian national) is suspected of rape after police investigation, and has been detained by Public Security Bureau at Chaoyang district in accordance with the law, and the investigation work is being further carried out,” the police posted on Weibo, according to Chinese newspaper Global Times.
The police investigation came after Chinese influencer Du Meizhu accused Kris Wu of luring girls including underage into sex.
Based on their initial investigation, the Beijing police’s Chaoyang branch announced on July 22 that at 10 p.m. on Dec. 5, 2020, Feng, who was Kris Wu’s acting manager at the time, invited Du Meizhu, 18, to his home supposedly for an audition for a female lead in a music video.
Kris Wu attended the party where more than 10 people played board games and drank together. By 7 a.m. the next day, the attendees left one after another. After drinking, Du Meizhu stayed at Wu’s house and they had sex.
In the afternoon, Du Meizhu left Wu’s home after having a meal. Wu and Du Meizhu added each other on the WeChat app.
A lawyer for the Beijing Lanpeng Law Firm told Global Times that if Kris Wu is convicted of rape, he may be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison. And after serving his sentence, he will be deported back to Canada.
Beijing attorney Wu Fatian was also quoted by the newspaper as saying that although the pop star is Canadian, he is bound by law in China.
Under Article 236 of China’s Criminal Law, “Whoever, by violence, coercion or other means, rapes a woman is to be sentenced to not less than three years and not more than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment. Whoever has sexual relations with a girl under the age of 14 is to be deemed to have committed rape and is to be given a heavier punishment.”
The law added that “whoever rapes a woman or has sexual relations with a girl involving one of the following circumstances is to be sentenced to not less than 10 years of fixed-term imprisonment, life imprisonment, or death:
“1. rape a woman or have sexual relations with a girl and when the circumstances are odious;
“2. rape several women or have sexual relations with several girls;
“3. rape a woman in a public place and in the public;
“4. rape a woman in turn with another or more persons;
“5. cause the victim serious injury, death, or other serious consequences.”
Chinese microblogging platform Weibo has also deleted Kris Wu’s official account, which had more than 50 million followers, after it was reported of violating rules and regulations.
Madame Tussauds Shanghai told Global Times that Kris Wu’s wax figure in the museum has been removed.
Kris Wu denied last month the allegations of Du Meizhu. In a Weibo on July 19, he said, “I didn't respond before because l didn't want to disturb the legal proceedings but didn't think that silence would encourage the rumormongers to take it one step further. I'm at the end of my rope!”
“I have only seen Ms. Du once during a friendly gathering on December 5. 2020. Nobody was plied with alcohol, no phones were taken away, and absolutely none of those ‘details’ she described took place. Many people were present at the gathering that day, they can all testify to this!” he said, according to Weibo Trending.
He added, “I'm so sorry for disturbing everyone. | am stating that l have never ‘picked concubines’! Never ‘seduced and raped’ or ‘drugged and raped’! There were no ‘underage ’! If I behaved like this, everyone please rest assured I would put myself in jail!! I take legal responsibility for everything I just said!!”