JD.com founder Richard Liu divorce rumours shut down in Valentine’s Day statement
- Lawyer warns of legal action against social media users spreading stories of separation
Rumours that the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com and his wife have divorced have been quickly squashed by the couple’s lawyer on Valentine’s Day.
Any claims about a divorce were deliberate rumours created from nowhere and evidence would be collected, and legal action taken, lawyer Zhou Junwu said in a statement on Chinese microblogging platform Weibo on Thursday afternoon.
The strongly worded statement followed recent claims by a social media user that JD.com chief executive Richard Liu Qiangdong and his wife Zhang Zetian had separated.
There has been speculation about the marriage since the 45-year-old billionaire was briefly detained in Minneapolis, Minnesota over allegations of rape made by a Chinese woman last August when he was attending a university business programme.
Liu was soon released and cleared of felony rape charges due to insufficient evidence.
JD.com CEO Richard Liu cleared in US but Chinese e-commerce giant still faces challenges ahead
In September, in what appeared to be another attempt to quash rumours of their separation, Zhang posted a photo on her WeChat Moments page showing two adult hands and the hand of a young child holding a mooncake during the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.