BEIJING: A court in China’s capital Beijing on Friday (Nov 24) denied the appeal of Canadian pop star Kris Wu, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison for crimes including rape, it said in a statement.
The former member of K-pop group EXO returned to China in 2014, where he built a lucrative career. In 2017 Wu made his Hollywood debut in the film “XXX: Return of Xander Cage”.
“Wu violated the will of women and took advantage of the drunkenness of multiple victims to have sexual relations with them. His behaviour constituted the crime of rape,” the court said in a statement.
Wu, 33, was detained in July 2021 after an 18-year-old Chinese student publicly accused him of inducing her and other girls, some younger than 18, to have sex with him.
Affirming the trial court’s ruling, Beijing No 3 Intermediate People’s Court ruled that Wu gathered a crowd to engage in lewd activities and was the ringleader, therefore his behaviour constituted the crime of group licentiousness.
His close relatives and officials from the Canadian embassy in China attended the verdict announcement.