Beijing police have formally arrested Kris Wu on Monday, Aug. 16, on rape charges. So, what will happen now to the former EXO member?
Wu has been the subject of an investigation on charges of rape, sexual assault, threatening and other crimes while being on hold at a detention facility in Chaoyang in Beijing, AllKpop reported. Now that he has been arrested, the investigation about his case will continue.
For starters, the 30-year-old star's ordeal began when an influencer named Du Meizhu claimed the performer would usually invite girls for interviews or auditions at his home. From here, he would, allegedly, force the victims to have sex with him.
In a series of posts on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, the 18-year-old victim alleged Wu raped her and other women. The singer vehemently denied the accusations.
An investigation, then, ensured and a report released on July 22 revealed the police rejected the rapper's claim that he had a relationship with Du. Instead, the police summoned what really happened was he lured the woman to his house in December on the pretext that he would have her appear in his music video.
He then, allegedly, gave her an alcoholic drink and later had sex with her. According to the South China Morning Post, Wu gave Du 32,000 yuan or $4,950 for online shopping three days after the incident.
Ever since Du made her claim public, she said seven more women came forward and told her they experienced the same thing she did. Apparently, they were also seduced by the "Love Shot" hitmaker and promised to give them jobs and other opportunities.
Some were, reportedly, under 18 years old, though it was not revealed if there were younger than 14, which is the age of consent in China. Anyhow, Wu said he did not have sex with women under 14, Billboard noted.
Meanwhile, in China, the law only allows a maximum detention period of 37 days for criminal investigation. After that, a formal arrest or release without charge will occur.
In Wu's case, he has been arrested and may receive a sentence of three to 10 years jail time, which is the usual verdict of rape cases in China. However, this can go longer if there are "aggravating circumstances."
Wu is a Canadian national who came to prominence as part of the hit K-pop boy band EXO. After the group split, he managed to make a successful name for himself in the Chinese market.
He has secured several modeling gigs and even became the face of the most luxurious names in fashion. However, after the rape and sexual assault accusations, he lost some of his major deals, like Louis Vuitton, Bulgari, L'Oreal Men, and Porsche.
