Alibaba fires employee accused of sexual assault after triggering public outcry-...

Alibaba fires employee accused of sexual assault after triggering public outcry- PingWest

Alibaba fires employee accused of sexual assault after triggering public outcry

13 hours ago

Alibaba has fired a manager accused of sexual assault after a female employee wrote a post online detailing an incident of sexual assault last month.

Details: In the post, the female employee said that she was forced by her supervisor to drink a lot of alcohol during a business dinner late last month. She said the man then entered her room four times that night and sexually assaulted her.

The victim also claimed that he had asked the company to deal with the matter for several times, but the company keeps on being vague about the case, and the perpetrator is still working normally.

These allegations circulated widely on Chinese social media last weekend, sparking a public outcry, with many criticizing the Alibaba's handling of the situation. 

On Monday, the e-commerce giant said it has fired woman's supervisor. Also, two senior employees from the management team resigned after they "failed to prioritize employee protection". 

"This incident has caused tremendous harm to her. We will do everything we can to take care of her," Alibaba's chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang wrote in a memo to employees.

Zhang added that the company's chief people officer has also been reprimanded, and said that the company will establish a dedicated reporting channel for employees, as well as create an "anti-sexual harassment policy" that will include input from experts and employees.

On Sunday, police in Jinan announced on Weibo that they had launched a probe into the case. "The police are actively investigating the matter and collecting evidence," they said in a statement.

Context: Over the years, Alibaba has been known among tech workers for its toxic working atmosphere and abuse of power. In 2016, 4 programmers who used system vulnerabilities to win more than 100 boxes of moon cakes in the company's internal moon cake giveaway event were fired.

The increasingly strict supervision and the authorities' pursuit of a healthy social environment should make Alibaba and other tech giants be cautious in every step. 

On Sunday, the local police announced that they had launched an investigation into the case and are actively investigating the matter and collecting evidence.

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