Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu faces rape charge in Beijing court
WARNING: This text incorporates graphic content material and should have an effect on those that have skilled sexual violence or know somebody affected by it.
Chinese language-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has confronted rape and different felony costs at a closed trial in Beijing as China was in an uproar over a video displaying a gaggle of males bodily assaulting 4 ladies in one other metropolis.
Wu’s trial Friday on the Chaoyang Folks’s court docket was reported late Friday evening by Chang’An Web, which belongs to China’s Central Political and Authorized Affairs Fee, which is managed by the ruling Communist Get together.
Announcement sparks criticism over timing
Many social media customers in China criticized the timing of the trial announcement.
“Extra involved in regards to the Tangshan matter,” stated the highest touch upon Weibo, a well-liked Chinese language social media web site, in response to the Political and Authorized Affairs’ account. It was favored greater than 22,000 occasions.
The assault on 4 ladies eating at a restaurant early Friday morning in Tangshan, a coastal metropolis east of Beijing, was seen in surveillance footage shared extensively on Weibo. By Sunday, police had arrested 9 individuals on suspicion of violent assault within the case.
The assault and the general public outcry renewed a dialog about misogyny and mistreatment of ladies in China.
Earlier this 12 months, video surfaced of a girl who had been chained in a shack. The police investigation discovered she had been trafficked and bought as a bride.
Verdict and sentence to be issued later
Wu, in the meantime, had been in police custody since August final 12 months.
The trial of the previous member of Korean group EXO was closed to the general public to guard the sufferer’s privateness, state media stated. He was tried on costs of rape in addition to the “crime of assembling a crowd to have interaction in sexual promiscuity.”
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Rape is punished with wherever between three to 10 years in jail, though life sentences and loss of life sentences may also be given in distinctive circumstances.
The second cost Wu faces is punishable by as much as 5 years in jail.
The decision and sentence have been to be issued later, state media stated.
Final 12 months, a young person accused Wu of getting intercourse along with her whereas she was drunk. Wu denied the accusation.
{The teenager} additionally then stated seven different ladies contacted her to say Wu seduced them with guarantees of jobs and different alternatives. She stated some have been underneath 18.
Wu, recognized in Chinese language as Wu Yifan, grew up in Guangzhou in southern China and in Vancouver. He carried out with EXO from 2012 to 2014, then launched a solo profession.
Help is obtainable for anybody who has been sexually assaulted. You possibly can entry disaster traces and native help providers by means of this Government of Canada website or the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. If you happen to’re in speedy hazard or worry to your security or that of others round you, please name 911.
