Alibaba Photo:VCG

Alibaba has a zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct and the e-commerce giant has set up a task force to support police investigation of a sexual assault scandal involving one of Alibaba's employees, the company said on Sunday.

The Alibaba sexual scandal topped search trends on China's social media Sina Weibo on Saturday. Media reports suggest that a member of Alibaba's employees, Wang Chengwen, had forced a female colleague to drink too much alcohol, and raped her while she was drunk. 

The victim, whose name is not given, complained that she reported the issue to Alibaba but "received no response". 

Police in Jinan city, East China's Shandong Province, announced on Sunday that the investigation of the sexual misconduct case involving Alibaba employees has started, and the result will be made public promptly. 

Alibaba told the Global Times that the accused employee had been suspended, and the company will not tolerate any illegal behavior and will fully cooperate with local police, in responding to the sexual assault scandal.   

Alibaba Group has a zero-tolerance policy against sexual misconduct, and ensuring a safe workplace for all our employees is Alibaba's top priority. The company has suspended relevant parties suspected of violating the company's policies and values, and Alibaba have established a special internal task force to investigate the issue and support the ongoing police investigation, the company said in a statement.

Alibaba vowed to provide more detailed updates on the case as it continues to work with law enforcement on the investigation, the company said. 

CEO Zhang Yong, also known as Daniel Zhang said on Sunday that he was "shocked, angry and shameful" hearing the scandal. Zhang vowed to fully investigate the case, with its results to be made available to all Alibaba staff workers later. 

Alibaba issued its quarterly financial report on August 3, which showed that the company's total revenue witnessed a year-on-year increase of 34%. Alibaba's active users climbed to 1.18 billion, of whom 912 million are located in China.

Global Times