Rumors have surfaced that Kris (real name Wu Yifan), a Chinese singer and former member of EXO, died while serving his sentence, but it has been reported that this is not true. Kris is currently imprisoned on rape charges.
According to Taiwanese outlet TVBS and Hong Kong outlet HK01 on the 13th (local time), rumors have been spreading online in China that Kris, who was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2021 for rape, “died in prison after a hunger strike.”
Kris is now in his fourth year of serving his sentence in a Chinese prison. During this time, some local netizens claimed he had refused food for a long period while incarcerated and eventually died of starvation. The rumor even escalated to claims that “Kris was sexually assaulted and murdered by someone while in prison.”
However, Chinese-language media stated, “This is the third time during his four years of imprisonment that death rumors about Kris have surfaced,” and that “Jiangsu police immediately posted an official statement on their Weibo account on the 11th refuting the rumor,” thereby denying the allegations.
Kris debuted as a member of idol group EXO in 2012. After leaving EXO in 2014, he moved to China to begin solo activities and even appeared in the 2017 film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.
However, between November and December 2020, Kris forced drunk women into sexual acts and was subsequently tried. The Beijing Chaoyang District People’s Court sentenced him to 13 years in prison for indecency and rape, along with deportation. After appealing the first trial verdict, Kris’s appeal was dismissed by the Beijing No. 3 Intermediate People’s Court, which upheld the original ruling.
As a result, Kris will be deported to Canada after completing his 13-year prison sentence. Canada enforces chemical castration for sex offenders, leading some to speculate that Kris may face such measures.”
