Kris Wus 13-Year Jail Term Upheld by Chinese Appeal Court

October 2024 · 4 minute read

An appeal court in China on Friday confirmed the original trial verdict which ruled against Chinese Canadian rapper and actor Kris Wu (real name Wu Yifei).

An appeal hearing by the Beijing No. 3 People’s Intermediate Court in July heard the performer’s appeal case away from cameras and the public and said that it would deliver its verdict later. Family and representatives from the Canadian Embassy were reported to have been present for the Friday verdict.

Wu was sentenced last November by the Chaoyang District People’s Court to a total of 13 years — 11 and a half years for rape and a consecutive 22 months for “group lewdness” — and will be deported from China after completing his sentence. He was subsequently fined $64 million dollars for tax evasion.

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Allegations against Wu were made in July 2021 by Du Meizhu, then 18, a beauty industry influencer. The woman used social media to accuse the musician and actor of date-raping her while she was 17 and at a time when she was drunk. Du later also accused him of doing the same to other young women, including two minors. (China‘s age of sexual consent is 14.)

“Wu violated the will of women and took advantage of the drunkenness of multiple victims to have sexual relations with them. His behavior constituted the crime of rape,” the appeal court said in a statement. The court also ruled that Wu gathered a crowd to engage in lewd activities and was the ringleader, therefore his behavior constituted the crime of group licentiousness.

Born in China, but naturalized as Canadian, Wu, now 33, was a huge star in China with at least 15 major brand endorsements, including Bulgari, Lancome, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, all of which have since cut their ties with him. A former member of K-pop band EXO he made his Hollywood acting debut in “xXx: The Return of Xander Cage.”

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