China sentences Canadian pop star Kris Wu to 13 years for rape - Reuters

BEIJING, Nov 25 (Reuters) - A Beijing tribunal sentenced Canadian vocalist Kris Wu connected Friday to 13 years successful jailhouse aft uncovering him blameworthy of crimes including rape, conscionable implicit a twelvemonth aft his apprehension successful China, wherever helium was calved and built a lucrative career.

The tribunal successful the territory of Chaoyang said probe showed that from November to December 2020, the 32-year-old, who is besides known arsenic Wu Yifan, had raped 3 women.

"Wu Yifan took vantage of 3 drunken women ... astatine his home," the tribunal said connected its authoritative WeChat account.

A erstwhile subordinate of K-pop radical EXO, the superstar returned to China successful 2014 to prosecute a solo career.

Wu was detained on July 31 past twelvemonth aft an 18-year-old Chinese pupil publically accused him of inducing her and different girls, immoderate of them younger than 18, to person enactment with him.

At the time, the pupil told media Wu lured her into having enactment erstwhile she was 17, aft having plied her with liquor.

The tribunal besides recovered him blameworthy of the transgression of assembling a assemblage to prosecute successful intersexual promiscuity successful July 2018, it said.

The Canadian embassy successful Beijing did not instantly respond to a Reuters petition for comment, though authorities media said its officials had attended the sentencing.

He was besides ordered to wage 600 cardinal yuan ($83.77 million) for hiding idiosyncratic income and different tax-related offences, the taxation bureau said.

Wu evaded 95 cardinal yuan of taxation from 2019 to 2020 by hiding idiosyncratic income done home and overseas affiliated enterprises, and underpaid taxes of 84 cardinal yuan, authorities said.

At the clip of his detention, Wu was an ambassador for 15 brands, specified arsenic Bulgari, Lancome, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, each of which instantly severed ties with him.

The tribunal said Wu would beryllium deported, though lawyers successful China person said specified deportations typically instrumentality spot aft completion of the sentence.

($1=7.1622 Chinese yuan renminbi)

Reporting by Sophie Yu and Martin Pollard; Editing by Tony Munroe and Clarence Fernandez

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