Minneapolis (TIP): A Chinese billionaire, one of the richest people in the world, is heading to trial in Minneapolis to defend himself against allegations that he raped a former University of Minnesota student after a night of dinner and drinks in 2018.
Richard Liu, the founder and former CEO of e-commerce giant JD.com, has denied raping the woman, and prosecutors did not file criminal charges. The woman, Jingyao Liu, sued in civil court, alleging she was coerced to drink before Richard Liu groped her in a limousine and raped her in her apartment.
Both are expected to testify, and it will be up to a jury to decide who is telling the truth.
The woman alleges the attack happened in 2018 while Richard Liu was in Minneapolis for a week-long residency in the University of Minnesota’s doctor of business administration China program, geared towards high-level executives in China.
Jingyao Liu, a Chinese citizen, was at the university on a student visa and was a volunteer in the program at the time. Richard Liu and Jingyao Liu are not related. Jingyao Liu was 21 at the time; Richard Liu was 46. Richard Liu, who stepped down as the CEO of JD.com this year amid increased government scrutiny of China’s technology industry, was arrested on suspicion of felony rape, but prosecutors never filed criminal charges, saying the case had “profound evidentiary problems.”
Jingyao Liu sued Richard Liu and JD.com in 2019, alleging sexual assault and battery, along with false imprisonment.
She seeks compensatory damages to cover medical bills, emotional distress and pain and suffering. She is seeking more than USD 50,000. According to the lawsuit, on the night of the alleged attack, Richard Liu and other executives went to a Japanese restaurant in Minneapolis, and one of the men invited Jingyao Liu at Richard Liu’s request. Jingyao Liu felt coerced to drink as the men toasted her, she said in her lawsuit.
According to text messages reviewed by The Associated Press and Jingyao Liu’s interviews with police, she said that after the dinner, Richard Liu pulled her into a limousine and groped her despite her protests. She said he raped her at her apartment. She texted a friend: “I begged him don’t. But he didn’t listen.”
Officers released Richard Liu because “it was unclear if a crime had actually taken place,” according to police. In an interview later with an investigator, Richard Liu said that it was consensual. (AP)