Kris Wu, arrested on suspicion of rape, faces LIFE imprisonment if convicted

Chinese Canadian actor and singer Kris Wu was arrested on suspicion of rape weeks after a young woman came forward to accuse him of targeting herself and others.

The allegations: In a statement on Saturday, police in Beijing’s Chaoyang District said they have detained the 30-year-old, whose real name is Wu Yifan, in response to reports that he “has repeatedly tricked young women into having sex” and “other related issues.”

The arrest comes a week after police revealed that Wu had lied about his relationship with teen influencer Du Meizhu, according to the South China Morning Post. Du, 18, first accused Wu of sexual misconduct on July 8, revealing screenshots of alleged conversations between them and people who supposedly worked for him.
Du claims that Wu invited her to a party at his home where she was pressured to consume alcohol. She allegedly lost consciousness and wound up in his bed the next morning.
Du said one of Wu’s associates offered her hush money. When she declined, she was allegedly threatened with a lawsuit. A sum of 500,000 yuan (about $77,000) was soon wired into her bank account. She has since returned the money in installments.
Du, who was 17 during the alleged incident, claims that Wu’s victims far exceed eight and that two of them are minors, according to the state-run Global Times. China’s age of consent is 14.

Reactions: Wu’s arrest is being lauded by #MeToo advocates, the Wall Street Journal noted. Since Du came forward, at least 24 more women have made allegations of inappropriate behavior, according to the BBC.

Du’s sister thanked the public after Wu’s arrest. “Only after having experienced hellish torture can we have the power to conquer heaven. Our efforts are not in vain. All the injustices we suffer will turn into motivation,” she said in a statement.
Lu Pin, a New York-based feminist activist, described Wu’s detention as a major step for China’s #MeToo movement. “Now with Wu Yifan, #MeToo has finally taken down someone with real power in China — it has shown that no matter how powerful you are, rape is not acceptable,” Lu told The New York Times.
If convicted, Wu faces imprisonment from 10 years up to life, the Global Times said in another article. He will be deported to Canada after serving his sentence, an attorney from the Beijing Lanpeng Law Firm told the outlet.
The former EXO member, an older Kpop group, has lost multiple endorsement deals — including Porsche and Bulgari — over the allegations and is suing Du for defamation. He rejects her claims and assured his fans, “There was no ‘underage’ [sex], if there was this kind of behavior, everyone please rest assured, I will go into prison myself!”

Featured Image via Reuters

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