Chinese technology giant Alibaba fired a supervisor at the company and sanctioned several other employees after the man was accused of raping a drunk female employee last month.
The supervisor – who was referred to only by the name Quyi – reportedly confessed to having engaged in “intimate acts” with an “inebriated” employee in her hotel room following a “drunken night,” according to the Alibaba-owned South China Morning Post and other outlets, which obtained an internal memo on the situation.
The woman allegedly woke up the next day with no memory of the night, before discovering in CCTV footage that the supervisor had repeatedly entered her room while she was intoxicated.
“He will be fired and never be rehired. Whether he has committed rape or indecency that violates the law will be determined by law enforcement,” the memo explained, adding: “We will do everything we can to take care of her.”
Several other employees have either resigned or been sanctioned for not doing enough when the rape allegation was made, including Alibaba Neighborhood Retail Business group president, Li Yonghe, and a human resources employee, Xu Kun, who handed in their resignations “for not acting in a timely and appropriate manner.”
Alibaba Chief People Officer Judy Tong also received a recorded ‘demerit’ due to the human resource department’s failure to take enough action.
Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang called the incident “a humiliation for all” at the company and said, “We must rebuild, and we must change.”
“Change is only possible if everyone takes individual action, but it must start at the top. It starts with me. Please wait and watch,” Zhang concluded.
In a statement to the South China Morning Post, Alibaba also declared that the company “has a zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct,” and said “ensuring a safe workplace for all our employees” was Alibaba’s “top priority.”
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