Chinese court rejects Canadian pop star Kris Wu's appeal against rape conviction

Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People's Court on Friday, upheld Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu's 13-year prison sentence.

Wu was convicted in November 2022 and sentenced to prison by the Beijing Chaoyang District People's Court for rape and assembling a crowd to engage in promiscuous activities.

He would be deported at the end of his imprisonment. Wu had lodged an appeal with an intermediate court. It was heard earlier this year. 

The court said the evidence presented in the case was sufficient and the sentence was reasonable.

Wu was detained in July 2021 after an 18-year-old Chinese student publicly accused him of inducing her and other girls, some of them younger than 18, to have sex with him.

The court said Wu gathered a crowd to engage in lewd activities and was the ringleader, therefore his behaviour constituted the crime of group licentiousness, and it would maintain the original ruling, Reuters reported. 

Wu was convicted of taking advantage of the drunkenness of women to have sexual relations with them.

Wu's relatives and a few officials from the Canadian embassy attended Wu's verdict announcement. A pop star, Wu made his Hollywood debut with the 2017 movie XXX: Return of Xander Cage. 

He was an ambassador for 15 luxury brands including Bulgari, Lancome, Louis Vuitton and Porsche, all of which immediately severed ties with him after he was convicted.