Official suspended over repentance letter for sex assault

An official who wrote a letter of repentance to a female subordinate who he is alleged to have sexually assaulted has filed a lawsuit denying all the charges and has sued the woman for slander, Beijing Times reported on March 27.

The lawsuit filed by Zhu Chunliang, deputy director of the Zhengzhou animal husbandry bureau in Henan province, has been accepted by the Erqi district people’s court in Zhengzhou.

Zhu denied he drugged and sexually assaulted the young woman and said he was forced to write the letter.

An online post last week revealed a copy of a letter in which Zhu admits he forced the young woman into sexual relations during a business trip in September.

The victim was quoted by earlier media reports saying that after her family found out about it and went to talk with Zhu, the official wrote the letter asking for "a chance to make things right" in order to solve the issue privately.

Zhu has been suspended from work by the local disciplinary watchdog for investigation.