Exiled to 13 years in prison…Famous Chinese singer ‘sexually assaulted multiple women’ ends up in prison

A former top idol has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.

On November 25, the People’s Court in Beijing, China’s capital, sentenced Chris (32, real name Wu Yifang), a singer and former member of the Korean male idol group EXO, to 13 years and four months in prison. He received 11 years and 6 months for rape and 1 year and 10 months for group indecency. …… Chris will be deported upon completion of his sentence.

Chris is a Chinese-Canadian who was also an actor. He signed a contract with a major Korean entertainment agency and debuted as a member of EXO in April 2012; when a lawsuit was filed against his agency in May 2002 regarding an exclusive contract, he left the group and based himself in China.

He is one of the most notable artists in Asia, having won the Best New Actor Award at the London International Chinese Language Film Festival and the Best Actor Award at the Gold Crane at the Tokyo Chinese Film Week. He had over 50 million followers on the Chinese version of Twitter, Weibo. He is also very popular in Japan,” said a writer familiar with the entertainment industry in Asia.

A sexual assault scandal involving multiple women surfaced against the famous singer. It was discovered in July 2009. An 18-year-old female aspiring to make her debut in the entertainment industry posted the following on “Weibo.

Chris invites women to casting meetings and fan meetings. It is usually late at night. When I met him, he made me drink alcohol and forced me to have sexual relations with him. Chris has never used contraception and has never made any of the promises he made to me or other women to support his entertainment career.

When we had sexual relations, Chris transferred 500,000 yuan (about 8.5 million yen) in several installments to keep his mouth shut. We are now in the process of refunding the money. The number of women who were sexually assaulted exceeds seven minors alone. I hope I am the last victim and will fight fair and square.

A number of advertisements for my appearances have been removed.

When Ms. A made her accusations, women who said they had been sexually victimized by Chris appeared one after another. Chris immediately responded on the Internet as follows.

I met this woman (Ms. A) only once. I did not offer her alcohol. I have never acted in a way that would cause a problem in my life. I can be held legally responsible for everything I say and do.

However, the furor only grew louder.

A video of a man, who is supposed to be Chris, performing indecent acts with women at a club has appeared on the Internet. Companies that had used him as their image model cancelled their contracts with him one after another. Cosmetics brand Lancome and confectionary maker Ryohinpoko have withdrawn advertisements featuring Chris. In May 2009, the Chinese TV station CCTV removed a billboard advertising Chris’s new song.

As the furor escalated, the police also launched an investigation. Public security authorities in Beijing arrested Chris on suspicion of rape in July 2009. He was prosecuted and this time a heavy sentence was imposed.

The investigation revealed more than just an obscenity case. He failed to declare 95 million yuan (about 1,817 million yen) to conceal his personal assets, and he evaded 84 million yuan (about 1,610 million yen) in taxes. Chris was fined 600 million yuan (about 11.48 billion yen) by the Chinese tax authorities, including additional tax collection and fines for delinquent tax payments,” said a reporter from the international section of a national newspaper.

A former top idol who lost both money and honor. Even if he completes his prison sentence, he will likely face a harsh future in China as a result of deportation.