JD.com founder and billionaire Liu settles U.S. rape civil suit

SHANGHAI, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Billionaire Richard Liu, founding father of one in every of China’s largest e-commerce platforms JD.com, has settled a civil swimsuit introduced by former College of Michigan pupil Liu Jingyao, who had accused him of rape.

The swimsuit was a part of a long-running authorized battle between Richard Liu and Liu Jingyao, who was a 21-year-old pupil in 2018 when she stated Richard Liu raped her after a night of dinner and drinks.

A press release from the lawsuit’s events, and offered to Reuters by JD.com, stated: “The incident between Ms. Jingyao Liu and Mr. Richard Liu in Minnesota in 2018 resulted in a misunderstanding that has consumed substantial public consideration and introduced profound struggling to the events and their households.”

It went on to substantiate that the case, which final week started jury choice proceedings in a Minnesota court docket, has been settled, however didn’t disclose the circumstances of the settlement.

JD.com declined to remark additional on the case, whereas legal professionals for Richard Liu and Liu Jingyao didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Richard Liu is a high-profile billionaire in China who based and till earlier this 12 months was chief govt of JD.com. He handed the CEO reins to Xu Lei in April.

Liu Jingyao filed the civil swimsuit in April 2019, 4 months after prosecutors declined to press felony expenses towards Richard Liu.

The case closely dented Liu’s popularity in China and put scrutiny on his management of the e-commerce big. In 2019, he resigned from the advisory physique to China’s parliament, citing “private causes”.

The case had additionally galvanised many ladies in China, the place points resembling sexual harassment and assault had for years been not often broached in public till the #MeToo motion took root in 2018, although it has confronted on-line censorship and official pushback since.

Supporters of Liu Jingyao on Chinese language social media known as the settlement a win for China’s #MeToo motion.

Information of the settlement rapidly started trending on Chinese language social media on Sunday, with greater than 110 million folks studying information on the subject.

Reporting by Casey Corridor and Winni Zhou; Enhancing by Kim Coghill

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