Alibaba sexual assault case dropped as China police say 'forcible indecency' not a crime
Source: The Guardian
Alibaba sexual assault case dropped as China police say forcible indecency not a crime
Manager accused of rape released after 15 days, the maximum punishment for someone who molests another
Helen Davidson in Taipei
@heldavidson
Tue 7 Sep 2021 07.00 BST
Prosecutors in China have dropped a case against an Alibaba manager accused of sexually assaulting an employee, saying he committed forcible indecency but that it did not constitute a crime.
In August a female employee of the e-commerce giant posted a lengthy statement accusing a manager of raping her during a business trip, and claiming that management at the company did not take her complaint seriously. Alibaba pledged to cooperate with a police investigation, fired the manager, and suspended other employees.
However on Monday evening the Peoples Procuratorate of Huaiyin District in Jinan City said that after reviewing the case it had decided not to approve the arrest. It said the investigation had determined the man had committed forcible indecency a term which includes sexual assault but that it did not constitute a crime, and the investigation was terminated.
He was instead ordered to be detained for 15 days, in accordance with article 44 of the administrative Public Security Management Punishment Law. Article 44 stipulates 15 days detention as the maximum punishment for a person who molests another or intentionally exposes themselves, with other serious circumstances.
On Tuesday morning the mans wife reportedly posted on Weibo that he was released at dawn.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/07/alibaba-sexual-assault-case-dropped-as-china-police-say-forcible-indecency-not-a