Alibaba To Fire Manager Accused Of Rape

Chinese multinational technology company, Alibaba will fire a manager accused of rape, according to a memo seen by the BBC.

Gatekeepers News reports that Chief Executive Daniel Zhang, in a letter sent to employees of the firm, said two other bosses who failed to act on the allegation have resigned.

Gatekeepers News gathered that the tech company is working with police after a female worker alleged that she was raped by a male boss in a hotel room while she was unconscious after a “drunken night”, an allegation that has been widely shared on Chinese social media.

According to Zhang, the accused manager has admitted that “there were intimate acts” while the woman was “inebriated”.

The letter further reads: “He will be fired and never be rehired. Whether he has committed rape or indecency that violates the law will be determined by law enforcement.”

The memo also noted that Alibaba would take responsibility for the woman’s wellbeing, saying: “We will do everything we can to take care of her.”

Police in the eastern city of Jinan, where the incident took place, on Sunday, said they are investigating the allegations.

The woman, in an eleven-page document, alleged that her manager coerced her into travelling to the city of Jinan, which is around 900km (560 miles) from Alibaba’s head office in Hangzhou, for a meeting with a client.

She claimed her superiors ordered her to drink alcohol with co-workers during dinner.

The woman also alleged that on the evening of 27 July the client kissed her.

She said she woke up in her hotel room the next day without her clothes on and with no memory of the night before.

According to her, the surveillance camera footage she obtained showed her manager had gone into her room four times during the evening.

Alibaba said it is “staunchly opposed to forced drinking culture” in its memo to employees.
The woman said after returning to Hangzhou, she reported the incident to Alibaba’s human resources (HR) department and senior management and also requested her boss be fired.

She said that human resources initially agreed to the request but took no further action.

Sequel this, the memo to employees said: “In the entire incident handling process, the HR function did not pay enough attention and care to our people.”

“They were rational but lacked empathy and care. At the same time, an emergency response system was absent, and a severe misjudgement was made,” it added.