Alibaba criticized for delay in acting on rape allegations by employee vs manager

China's biggest online commerce firm, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd was criticized by state media for not acting against one of its managers accused of rape until the accuser went public.

The accuser, a female employee, posted an 11-page account on Saturday on Alibaba's intranet about being sexually assaulted by her manager and a client.

She added that her superiors and human resource officers did not take her complaint seriously in the five days since she reported it.

Alibaba had since fired the manager and promised policies to prevent sexual harassment. Police in the city of Jinan, where the alleged incident took place is investigating the matter.

The fired manager, who handled the grocery delivery unit Neighbourhood Retail, ordered the accuser to drink and did "intimate acts" to her when she became intoxicated.

The incident has also sparked internal discussion over the company's culture, said an Alibaba employee.

In an internal group chat, staff has demanded justice and measures to prevent sexual harassment.

Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang had announced company-wide sexual harassment prevention training.

He added that Alibaba was staunchly opposed to "the ugly culture of forced drinking".