Chinese-Canadian singer Kris Wu jailed for rape

Chinese-Canadian ex-pop star Kris Wu has been jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of rape, a Chinese court said Friday.

Wu originally shot to fame as a member of the K-pop boyband EXO, before leaving in 2014 to launch a successful solo career as a singer, actor, model and variety show judge.

Nineteen-year-old student Du Meizhu last year accused Wu of date-raping her when she was 17, resulting in a barrage of public criticism and luxury brands dropping deals with him.

Wu was sentenced to “11 years and six months of imprisonment for rape”, the court in Beijing’s Chaoyang district said Friday, adding he “was also sentenced to imprisonment of one year and 10 months for the crime of gathering people to commit adultery”.

Wu will serve a 13-year term before being deported.

He was also fined 600 million yuan ($84 million) for tax evasion, state news agency Xinhua reported, citing Beijing’s tax authorities.

He also underpaid 84 million yuan of taxes.

A spokesperson declined to provide further information “due to privacy considerations”.