Prosecutors in China have dropped a sexual assault case against a former Alibaba employee

Prosecutors in China have dropped a sexual assault case against a former Alibaba employee

An ex-Alibaba employee accused of sexually assaulting a co-worker has been released by police in China after prosecutors determined that his act of "forcible indecency" did not amount to a criminal offense.

In the wake of the ruling, the public debate about a case that rocked the country's tech industry and resulted in a reckoning within Alibaba about sexual assault and harassment has been reignited.

Last month, the man was fired by Alibaba (BABA) after a female colleague accused him of sexually assaulting her in the workplace. According to the victim, who did not want to be identified, she wrote a post that was published on an internal Alibaba website that was then circulated on the Chinese social media website Weibo, which led to the case becoming public.

Screenshots from the 8,000-word account show the woman complaining about being assaulted by her supervisor during a business trip to Jinan, a city in eastern China, while she claims to have been intoxicated at the time.

In China, "forcible indecency" can be prosecuted as a criminal or administrative offense, depending on the circumstances. Forcible indecency is defined as the act of molesting or humiliating another person through the use of violence, coercion, or any other means. It can result in a sentence of up to five years in prison.

Forcible indecency, on the other hand, is considered a punishable administrative offense rather than a criminal offense. When used in this context, it is more broadly defined as "a person who molests another person." Instead of facing a criminal charge, the maximum punishment is 15 days in detention without the possibility of release.

According to a memo sent to employees by Alibaba Group chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang and made public by the company, the man had confessed to actions that the company deemed "in serious violation of company policy."

Forcible indecency

On Monday, police in Jinan announced that their investigation had come to an end, and that local prosecutors had refused to approve any further criminal investigation or arrests in the case. According to police, the man was given an administrative penalty of 15 days detention, but he was not formally arrested or charged with a crime as a result.

After hearing the news of the man's release, the Chinese public reacted differently. They had been following the case since the controversy erupted last month and had mixed feelings about the man's release.

Some people believed that the 15-day detention period was insufficient to deter future misconduct, and they questioned the effectiveness of the administrative law in this situation.

On the Chinese social media platform Weibo, one sarcastic commenter wrote, "This man could start a training class: How to conduct forcible indecency without committing a crime." The post received 15,000 likes from other people who agreed with him.

Others urged people to "have faith in the law," arguing that the man's release was proof of his innocence and that the law should be followed. A number of people were outraged at the woman for "misleading the public opinion."

A national discussion

The Alibaba case made headlines in August, just a few days after Chinese-Canadian pop star Kris Wu was detained by police on suspicion of rape after being accused of the crime. Wu was later arrested on suspicion of rape and taken into custody. Wu had previously denied the allegations on his personal Weibo account, which was suspended after he was detained. Following Wu's arrest, CNN reached out to his representatives for comment, but did not receive a response.

The two cases elevated sexual assault to the forefront of the national conversation, alongside issues such as workplace discrimination, the country's stifled #MeToo movement, a culture of victim-blaming, and the practice of "forced drinking," which refers to the practice of using alcohol-heavy events to secure business deals or build partnerships.

In both cases, authorities acted quickly, which drew initial praise from some on the internet, who saw police intervention as evidence of China's effective rule of law and criminal justice system. Those who disagreed with the high-profile nature of the cases maintained that it demonstrated how uncommon it is for survivors to speak out and seek justice.

In China, survivors of sexual assault have long been subjected to strong stigma and opposition. More women in China came forward to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault during the global #MeToo movement in 2018. That movement, on the other hand, was quickly put down when the Chinese government blocked online discussion, including censoring the #MeToo hashtag and many other related posts, among other things.

The recent Alibaba case, on the other hand, prompted a moment of reckoning within the company. According to a memo sent to employees by Alibaba CEO Zhang, two executives from the company have resigned because of the way the incident was handled.

The company also committed to establishing a dedicated reporting channel for employees, as well as to developing a "anti-sexual harassment policy" that would incorporate input from experts as well as from employees themselves.