Disgraced Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu, 32, can appeal his 13-year prison sentence following his conviction by a Chinese court for rape and gathering a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities on Nov. 25.
Wu, who debuted in EXO in 2012 but left the group in 2014, was found guilty by the Beijing Chaoyang People's Court.
According to the court, for the crime of rape, Wu was sentenced to 11 years and six months in prison plus deportation.
For the crime of gathering a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities, the court sentenced him to one year and ten months.
The court decided to implement a fixed term imprisonment of 13 years plus deportation against the pop idol.
Wu can file an appeal against the court’s decision within 10 days.
According to the Article 180 of China’s Criminal Procedure Law, “The accused, private prosecutor and their legal representatives who refuse to accept the judgment or order of a local people's court of first instance at any level, have the right to appeal in writing or orally to the people's court at the next higher level. The defenders and the near relatives of the accused may, with the consent of the accused, lodge an appeal,” based on a copy of the law posted by the Asian Legal Information Institute.
Article 183 of the same law states that “the time limit for an appeal or a protest against a judgment shall be 10 days and the time limit for an appeal or a protest against an order shall be five days; the time limit shall be counted from the day after the written judgment or order is received.”
"You have the right to file an appeal, through the original trial court or directly with the court of appeal, within ten days from the day following receipt of the judgment. The prosecutor can also appeal the judgment. Under current law, the appeal should take up to two to four months. This process can be longer with the approval of the Chinese Supreme People’s Court," according to the Canadian government website advice on Canadian who are convicted in China.
The website stated that “you can also file a petition to the court or the prosecutor against a judgment or ruling that has already taken legal effect, but filing the petition will not stop the execution of the judgment or ruling.”
It added, “You can file a petition to the court that provided the judgment or order within two years of the start of the execution of the criminal punishment. If the petition meets certain conditions, the court must retry the case. If the court rejects the petition, it may be filed to a higher-level court. Should the Supreme People’s Court retry the case or reexamine and reject the case, no further petitions will be accepted.”
Wu has been detained since July 31 last year and the number of days he has spent in prison will be deducted from his sentence.
However, since his sentence is more than 10 years, Wu is not eligible for parole in China.
Under Article 81 of China’s Criminal Law, “Criminals sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment who have served more than half of the term of their original sentence or criminals sentenced to life imprisonment who have served not less than ten years of their term may be granted parole if they observe rules of prison conscientiously, accept education and reform, and show true repentance, and will no longer cause harm to society after parole. If special circumstances exist, and upon approval of the Supreme People's Court, the above restrictions relating to the term served may be disregarded.”
But “recidivists and criminals sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than ten years or life imprisonment for violent crimes such as committing homicide, causing explosion, robbery, rape and kidnapping shall not be granted parole.”
Can Wu be transferred to Canada to serve his sentence? The Canadian government website states that “there is currently no transfer of offender treaty in place between Canada and China.”
“Canada’s International Transfer of Offenders Act, however, provides for the possibility to request a transfer to a Canadian prison through an administrative arrangement between Canada and the foreign government. Such arrangements are made on a case-by-case basis and are subject to the consent of the offenders, the Canadian Minister of Public Safety and the foreign government. The consent of provincial or territorial authorities in Canada may also be required. If your application is accepted by all parties, you would be transferred to a correctional facility in Canada to complete the remainder of your sentence, subject to Canadian laws and regulations.”
After completing his sentence, Wu will be deported back to Canada and will be barred from entering China for 10 years.
“Deported foreigners shall not be allowed to enter China within 10 years calculating from the date of deportation,” according to the Exit and Entry Administration Law of the People’s Republic of China.
The Beijing court stated that during the trial, it was found that from November to December 2020, Kris Wu took advantage of three drunken women who were unable to resist and forcibly had sex with them in his residence.
On July 1, 2018, at his residence, Kris Wu, together with others, arranged two women to engage in promiscuous activities after drinking, the court added.
The Beijing Chaoyang People's Court held that Kris Wu’s actions constituted the crime of rape and the crime of gathering a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities and he should be punished in accordance with the law.
It added that officials from the Canadian Embassy in China attended the sentencing.
In addition, the Beijing Municipal Tax Service of the State Taxation Administration imposed a fine of 600 million yuan ($83.7 million) on Kris Wu for tax evasion.
It was reported that although Kris Wu is a Canadian citizen, he stayed in China for more than 183 days in 2019 and 2020, and was liable to pay income tax.
Kris Wu was found out to have made false declarations by fabricating the nature of his income, concealed personal income through multiple domestic and foreign affiliated companies, evaded taxes, and committed other underpayment of taxes. .