A feminine employee of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba who accused a colleague of sexual assault has been fired for “expressing and communicating inappropriate opinions, fabricating and spreading false facts, (and) causing vile consequences,” her lawyer instructed CBS Information in a written response to questions.
The employee, recognized solely as Ms. Zhou, went public in August with allegations that she was raped by a colleague on a enterprise journey, after she stated the corporate took no motion towards him when she reported it to human assets.
In an 11-page doc, Zhou stated {that a} colleague, recognized as Mr. Wang, who was extra senior than her at Alibaba, coerced her into taking a enterprise journey to fulfill a consumer, BBC Information reported. She stated she was ordered to drink alcohol throughout dinner, and that the consumer kissed her.
When she awakened the following day in her lodge room, she had no garments on and no reminiscence of the earlier evening. She was capable of get hold of safety digital camera footage which confirmed Wang coming into her room 4 instances, the BBC stated.
Wang was ultimately fired from Alibaba after a fierce public backlash, however a felony case towards him was dropped, in keeping with the BBC. The corporate stated that two different workers who had did not act on Zhou’s report had additionally resigned. Alibaba issued an announcement condemning “forced drinking culture,” in keeping with BBC Information.
Alibaba had not responded to CBS Information’ request for remark at time of publication.
Zhou’s case brought on an outcry on social media in China and highlighted the therapy some girls there face within the office. It wasn’t the primary blow to a #MeToo motion that has struggled to realize momentum within the nation.
In a related case, a Chinese court docket threw out a lawsuit in September introduced by a girl who had claimed she was sexually harassed as an intern by a significant persona from the nation’s state-run TV community. The court docket dismissed her case, saying the proof submitted by her authorized workforce had did not show any harassment occurred. The person she accused filed a lawsuit towards her claiming defamation.
Zhou’s lawyer stated that she was fired on November 25 and never paid any severance — which is towards the regulation in China except an employer can show negligence or incompetence — and that she can be suing.
Shuai Zhang contributed to this report.
