A former Alibaba manager accused of sexual assault was released on Tuesday, September 7, after a court decided that the manager committed “forcible indecency” but that his behavior did not constitute a crime.

The verdict was reached at a district-level court in China’s northeastern Shandong province.

On August 7, a female employee at Alibaba whose surname is Zhou posted a detailed account on social media alleging that she was assaulted and raped by her manager, who was referred to by his last name, Wang.

The incident took place on July 27, when Wang bought Zhou on a business trip to the provincial capital of Shandong, Jinan.

Jinan police accused Wang of committing forcible indecency following the allegation. On Monday, September 6, police said that the investigation into the alleged assault had ended because the court did not approve his arrest.

However, he was still subjected to 15 days of detention.

On August 9, two days following Zhou’s allegation received widespread attention on social media, Alibaba announced that Wang had been fired and would not be rehired.

The company’s head of the local retail division and the human resource generalist also resigned due to their failure to promptly respond to Zhou’s report of the incident on August 2.

In a statement that Alibaba issued after the court’s decision, the group said, “the facts have been made clear; the justice system has made its decision,” and that “we believe in the power of justice and goodwill.”

Cover image via Depositphotos