Sino-Canadian singer Kris Wu arrested on rape charges

Beijing, Aug 1 (EFE).- Beijing police arrested popular Sino-Canadian singer and actor Kris Wu for allegedly raping and deceiving women – some of them minors – to have sex with them, local press reported Sunday.

According to a police statement issued Saturday night on Chinese social network Weibo, Wu “repeatedly tricked young women into having sex with them” and is also “suspected of rape.”

Many users of this social network, where Wu has more than 50 million followers, have called for an “impartial” investigation and “serious punishment” for the 30-year-old singer.

The scandal erupted in late July, when influential student Du Meizhu accused, in an interview with local news portal NetEase, that Wu raped her two years ago, when she was 17.

Du said the singer tricked young women who wanted to become actresses and got them drunk to have sex with them. The student said there are more than eight women among the victims, several of whome are minors.

The singer said the accusations are “fabricated,” but more than 10 of his sponsors broke their ties with him, including music broadcasting platform Yunting and cosmetic products company Kans.

According to local media such as Caixin, the accusations against Wu have once again put the “#MeToo” sexual assault awareness movement in the limelight in China, a country where it did not initially gain traction in part due to the difficulty posed by the legal system to prove harassment sexual allegations. EFE

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