The Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu has been arrested on suspicion of rape in a high-profile case that followed an accusation that the singer had sexually assaulted a 17-year-old while she was drunk and lured young women into sexual relationships. The prosecutor’s office of the Beijing district of Chaoyang said in a one-sentence statement that Wu’s arrest was formally approved but gave no details of the charges. Wu, 30, earlier denied the accusation by a teenager that he had sexually assaulted her while she was drunk. The accusation prompted an outpouring of sympathetic comments online for the teenager and criticism of Wu. The teenager said seven women had contacted her to say Wu, a former member of the Korean boyband EXO, had seduced them with promises of jobs and other opportunities. She said some were under 18 but gave no indication whether any were younger than China’s age of consent of 14. Wu, known in Chinese as Wu Yifan, has denied having sex with partners under 14. Wu was detained on 1 August while police conducted an investigation in response to comments online that he had “repeatedly lured young women” to have sex, according to a police statement at that time. Wu grew up in Guangzhou in China and in Vancouver, Canada. Police have said he is a Canadian citizen. The teenager publicised her accusations on social media and later in an interview with the internet portal NetEase. A day after that interview appeared, at least 10 brands including Porsche and Louis Vuitton broke off endorsement and other deals with Wu.