Alibaba axes man accused of sex assault

HONG KONG — China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba, said Monday it fired a manager accused of sexual assault and pledged to strengthen its anti-sexual harassment policy, after a female employee accused the company of suppressing her report of the assault.

The unidentified female employee went public Saturday with an internal post detailing the alleged sexual assault by her manager and a client during a business trip, according to local media reports. She said she was forced to drink alcohol, that her manager sexually assaulted her in a hotel room while she was intoxicated and that she was also molested by the client while her manager turned a blind eye.

The employee said the company didn’t take the matter seriously when she reported the assault, and that she was told the suspect would not be fired from the company, according to her post.

In a memo by Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang made public Monday, he said the accused perpetrator — who works at its Neighborhood Retail business unit — confessed to “intimate acts” with the female employee while she was intoxicated. Zhang said the manager was fired because he was in serious violation of company policy. The manager was not identified.

“Whether he has committed rape or indecency that violates the law will be determined by law enforcement,” Zhang said.

Two other executives, namely the president of the Neighborhood Retail business unit and the head of the unit’s human resources department, resigned to take responsibility for mishandling the case.

In the memo, Zhang pledged to expedite the formation of an anti-sexual harassment policy that has “zero tolerance for sexual misconduct.”