Months later, it had not happened. In September, prosecutors decided not to charge the woman’s boss because, they said, his behavior was not a crime. In November, Alibaba fired the woman, who has been identified by police and her lawyers only by her last name, Zhou. The company claimed that Ms. Zhou had damaged her reputation by spreading lies. But now, in the latest development, a Chinese court on Wednesday found Zhang Guo – the company’s client whom Ms. Zhou accused of sexually assaulting her along with her boss – guilty of “violent indecency”. He ordered Mr Zhang to serve 18 months in prison, one of the few high-profile cases in China of men being held accountable for sexual assault charges. The Huaiyin District Court in eastern China wrote in its ruling that, according to its findings, Mr. Zhang had taken advantage of Ms. Zhou’s drunkenness and abused her near the restaurant reception and in a private dining room. She also found that Mr Zhang had gone to her hotel room the next day and attacked her again. Alibaba fired Ms. Zhou’s former boss, identified as Wang, in August after Ms. Zhou publicly accused him of rape. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday ‘s ruling in Mr Zhang. Feng Yangsiang, Zhang’s lawyer, said the verdict was wrong and that his client was innocent. Mr Zhang told the court he planned to appeal the decision, his lawyer said. UPDATED June 22, 2022, 3:55 p.m. ET Ms. Zhou said in written answers to questions that Mr. Zhang’s sentence was shorter than he expected. She said the incident had worsened her mental and physical health and that she was worried the court ruling would discourage other women from appearing in China. “I can not easily encourage more women to be strong and brave, because I know how painful and difficult this process is,” she said. But instead of “dying” without answers, he added, “one must choose to fight hard and be justified.” The incident caught the country’s attention last year when Ms. Zhou got up and screamed about being sexually assaulted in one of Alibaba’s cafes. A video posted on the internet shows her strongly accusing her bosses and human resources of ignoring her complaints. As the video spread on social media, it caused a stir among viewers who were angry at the many prejudices and power imbalances faced by women in China. The #MeToo movement struggled to gain momentum in the country. Women who accuse men of sexual harassment or creating a toxic workplace are often harassed online. Institutions promote messages of female empowerment, but many women say allegations of misconduct by colleagues or superiors are often ignored. The court said Wednesday that the prosecution had provided “credible and sufficient evidence” to bring the case against Mr Zhang. He said Mr Zhang had neither confessed nor asked for forgiveness. Chinese media reported that neither Ms. Zhou nor Mr. Wang, who had both been registered as witnesses, appeared in court during the two-day trial in early June. Claire Fu contributed to the research.
