Prosecutors drop sexual assault case against Alibaba manager

Chinese prosecutors have dropped a case against a former Alibaba manager accused of sexual assault by a female colleague, weeks after the case caused a backlash against the e-commerce firm for how it handles alleged sexual misconduct

BEIJING -- Chinese prosecutors have dropped a case against a former Alibaba manager accused by a female colleague of sexual assault, weeks after the case caused a backlash against the e-commerce firm over how it handles sexual misconduct allegations. Police detained the former manager, whose last name is Wang, in August after a female Alibaba employee accused him of sexual assault while they were on a business trip to the northern Chinese city of Jinan. The woman accused Wang of turning a blind eye when she was plied with alcohol and molested during a dinner with a client. She said Wang later entered her hotel room and then sexually assaulted her while she was drunk. Prosecutors in Jinan did not approve Wang’s arrest and he received a 15-day detention instead, according to a statement posted on the social media site Weibo by Jinan police late Monday night.