The night a Chinese billionaire was accused of rape in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS/NEW YORK (Reuters) – With the Chinese language billionaire Richard Liu at her Minneapolis space condominium, a 21-year-old College of Minnesota scholar despatched a WeChat message to a pal in the midst of the night time. She wrote that Liu had pressured her to have intercourse with him.

“I used to be not prepared,” she wrote in Chinese language on the messaging utility round 2 a.m. on August 31. “Tomorrow I’ll consider a approach to escape,” she wrote, as she begged the pal to not name police.

“He’ll suppress it,” she wrote, referring to Liu. “You underestimate his energy.”

This WeChat alternate and one other one reviewed by Reuters haven’t been beforehand reported. One of many girl’s legal professionals, Wil Florin, verified that the textual content messages got here from her.

Liu, the founding father of Chinese language ecommerce big JD.com Inc, was arrested later that day on suspicion of rape, in response to a police report. He was launched with out being charged and has denied any wrongdoing via a lawyer. He has since returned to China and has pledged to cooperate with Minneapolis police.

Jill Brisbois, a lawyer for Liu, mentioned he maintains his innocence and has cooperated absolutely with the investigation.

“These allegations are inconsistent with proof that we hope will likely be disclosed to the general public as soon as the case is closed,” Brisbois wrote in an e-mail response to detailed questions from Reuters.

Loretta Chao, a spokeswoman for JD.com, mentioned that when extra info turns into accessible, “it should develop into obvious that the data on this be aware doesn’t inform the complete story.” She was responding to detailed questions from Reuters laying out the allegations within the girl’s WeChat messages and different findings.

Florin Roebig and Hold & Associates, the regulation corporations representing the girl, mentioned in an e-mail that their consumer had “absolutely cooperated” with police and was additionally ready to help prosecutors. Florin, requested if his consumer deliberate to file a civil swimsuit towards Liu, mentioned, “Our authorized intentions with regard to Mr. Liu and others will likely be revealed on the acceptable time.”

Representatives for each Liu and the scholar declined requests from Reuters to interview their shoppers.

The police division has turned over the findings of its preliminary investigation into the matter to native prosecutors for a choice on whether or not to deliver prices towards Liu. There isn’t any deadline for making that call, in response to the Hennepin County Lawyer’s Workplace.

The Minneapolis police and the county lawyer declined to touch upon detailed questions from Reuters.

Reuters has not been in a position to decide the identification of the girl, which has not been made public. However her WeChat messages to 2 mates, and interviews with half a dozen folks with data of the occasions that unfolded over a two-day interval present new details about the interactions between Liu and the girl, a scholar from China attending the College.

The case has drawn intense scrutiny globally and in China, the place the tycoon, often known as Liu Qiangdong, is widely known for his rags-to-riches story. Liu, 45, is married to Zhang Zetian, described by Chinese language media as 24-years previous, who has develop into a celeb in China and works to advertise JD.com.

Because the second-largest ecommerce web site within the nation after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the corporate has attracted buyers resembling Walmart Inc, Alphabet Inc’s Google and China’s Tencent Holdings.

Liu holds almost 80 p.c of the voting rights in JD.com. Shares within the firm have fallen about 15 p.c since Liu’s arrest and are down about 36 p.c for the yr.

“IT WAS A TRAP”

Liu was in Minneapolis briefly to attend a enterprise doctoral program run collectively by the College of Minnesota’s Carlson Faculty of Administration and China’s elite Tsinghua College, in response to the College of Minnesota. The doctoral program is “directed at high-level executives” from China.

Liu threw a cocktail party on August 30 for about two dozen folks, together with round 20 males, at Origami Uptown, a Japanese restaurant in Minneapolis the place wine, sake and beer flowed freely, in response to restaurant employees and closed circuit video footage reviewed by Reuters.

Liu, who Forbes estimates is price about $6.7 billion, ordered sashimi by pointing his finger on the first merchandise on the menu and sweeping all of it the way in which down to point he needed the whole lot, one restaurant worker mentioned. The group introduced in not less than one case of wine from an outdoor liquor retailer to drink together with the dinner, in response to the restaurant employees.

Safety video footage from the restaurant exhibits the group toasted one another all through the night time.

Later the girl advised a second pal in one of many messages that she felt pressured to drink that night.

“It was a entice,” she wrote, later including “I used to be actually drunk.”

The celebration ended round 9:30 p.m. The tab: $2,200, the receipt exhibits. One inebriated visitor was helped out of the restaurant by three of his associates, in response to the restaurant safety video footage.

Liu and the girl then headed to a home in Minneapolis, in response to one individual acquainted with the matter. One other supply mentioned that the home had been rented by one in all Liu’s classmates within the tutorial program to provide the category a spot to community, smoke, drink whiskey and have Chinese language meals each night time.

However they didn’t go in. Liu and the scholar had been seen outdoors the home earlier than Liu pulled her into his employed automotive, an individual with data of the incident mentioned.

Within the WeChat message to one in all her mates despatched hours later, the scholar mentioned Liu “began to the touch me within the automotive.”

“Then I begged him to not… however he didn’t hear,” she wrote.

They ended up again at her condominium, in response to sources with data of the matter.

Reuters couldn’t decide what occurred over the subsequent two hours. In accordance with the police report, the alleged rape occurred at round 1 a.m.

The lady subsequently reached a fellow College of Minnesota scholar who notified the police, in response to two sources and her WeChat messages.

Minneapolis police got here to her condominium early that morning whereas Liu was there, however made no arrests, one other supply acquainted with the scenario mentioned. Reuters couldn’t decide precisely what occurred through the police go to, however the supply mentioned the girl declined to press prices in Liu’s presence.

In a WeChat message with one in all her mates, she requested her pal why the billionaire could be taken with “an odd woman” like her.

“If it was simply me, I might commit suicide instantly,” she wrote. “However I’m afraid that my dad and mom will endure.”

By Friday morning, she additionally wrote to one in all her two mates that she had advised a number of folks about what had occurred, together with the police, a number of mates and not less than one trainer. She wrote that she would preserve her mattress sheets. “Proof can’t be thrown away,” she wrote.

On Friday afternoon, the scholar went to a hospital to have a sexual assault forensic check, the supply mentioned.

Law enforcement officials arrived at a College of Minnesota workplace shortly after an emergency name round 9 p.m that night time. The scholar was current on the workplace, alongside faculty representatives, and accused Liu of rape, the supply mentioned.

Representatives for the College of Minnesota declined to touch upon detailed questions from Reuters.

Liu got here to the college workplace round 11 p.m. whereas police had been there, in response to the individual acquainted with the matter. As an officer handcuffed him, Liu confirmed no emotion. “I would like an interpreter,” he mentioned, in response to the supply.

Liu was launched about 17 hours later. Minneapolis police have mentioned beforehand that they will solely maintain an individual with out prices for 36 hours.  

Inside days, Liu was again in China, which has no extradition treaty with the USA.

“Liu has returned to work in Beijing and he continues to steer the corporate. There isn’t any interruption to JD.com’s day-to-day enterprise operations,” Loretta Chao, the JD.com spokeswoman, advised Reuters.