Lawyer for the alleged victim says prosecutors did not speak with his client before determining insufficient evidence
By Wang Yiwei
Richard Liu, the Chinese billionaire who was accused of rape in August by a now-22-year-old student at the University of Minnesota, will not be charged by U.S. prosecutors due to a lack of evidence, Reuters reported early Saturday morning, China time.
The Hennepin County attorney’s office said that after a thorough investigation, it had determined the existing evidence was not substantial enough to warrant charges against Liu, the 45-year-old CEO of JD.com, one of China’s largest e-commerce companies. Details of the investigation were not released, as the attorney’s office said it did “not want to re-victimize the young woman.”
On Saturday morning, Liu wrote on microblogging platform Weibo that the outcome had proved he did not break the law — though he admitted that his behavior had “deeply harmed” his family.
Wil Florin, a lawyer for the alleged victim, told The New York Times that prosecutors had not met with or spoken to his client, and that he is considering bringing a civil suit against Liu.
Liu was arrested in Minnesota on Aug. 31 and released within a day. He returned to China, where he continued to run his company.
Editor: David Paulk.
(Header image: Richard Liu, the CEO and founder of Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, rides a delivery bike as he prepares to deliver goods to his company’s customers in Beijing, June 16, 2014. Jason Lee/VCG)
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