The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Chinese prosecutors have dropped a case against a former Alibaba Group Holding Ltd employee accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague, saying they had determined he had committed forcible indecency but not a crime.
The employee, identified by his surname Wang, was detained by police last month after a female Alibaba employee posted an 11-page account on Alibaba’s intranet saying a manager and a client sexually assaulted her during a business trip to eastern China’s Jinan city.
She said superiors and human resources did not take her report seriously, triggering a fierce public backlash against the e-commerce giant, which later fired Wang and suspended other executives.
Prosecutors have, however, approved the arrest of the client who has been identified by his surname Zhang.
ADVERTISEMENT
Reuters was unable to reach Wang or Zhang for comment.
Alibaba said in response to the decision by prosecutors that it has a zero-tolerance policy for sexual misconduct.
Alibaba dismissed 10 employees for sharing screen shots of the female colleague’s account of sexual assault allegations, Bloomberg News reported last month, citing people familiar with the matter.
By Emily Chow, Josh Horwitz and Wang Jing; Editors: Brenda Goh and Edwina Gibbs.
Learn more:
Alibaba Fires Manager Accused of Sexually Assaulting Employee
Though e-commerce reshaped retailing in the US and Europe even before the pandemic, a confluence of economic, financial and logistical circumstance kept the South American nation insulated from the trend until later.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Korean shopping app Ably, Kenya’s second-hand clothing trade and the EU’s bid to curb forced labour in Chinese cotton.
From Viviano Sue to Soshi Otsuki, a new generation of Tokyo-based designers are preparing to make their international breakthrough.
This week’s round-up of global markets fashion business news also features Latin American mall giants, Nigerian craft entrepreneurs and the mixed picture of China’s luxury market.