Uber APAC boss Eric Alexander fired for obtaining medical records of 2014 rape victim

Uber has fired Eric Alexander, who was the president of business for its Asia Pacific region. Alexander had reportedly obtained medical records of the victim during the Uber rape case in India, back in 2014. Alexander was apparently not convinced by the victim’s allegations and obtained the medical records for that reason. It is unclear whether he did this of his own accord or whether he was directed to do so. However, Alexander presented these to Uber CEO, Travis Kalanick and SVP Emil Mechael, Recode reports. 

The report also says that the records were either shown or told to other executives at the company as well. The incident was reportedly amongst 215 claims reported to law firms Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling, who are both investigating management issues within Uber, including reports of sexual harassment of female employees.

Further, Recode reports that 20 employees at Uber were fired after Coie’s investigation for infractions ranging from unprofessional behaviour to sexual harassment. About 100 more Uber employees are being investigated still and some action will be taken against them as well. 

To recall, the incident that led to Alexander’s firing is the 2014 rape case in India, where an Uber driver had raped his passenger. The incident led to widespread outrage in the country against Uber and the company had been investigated by the authorities as well. The driver was eventually arrested and sentenced to life in prison by Indian courts.

The incident also brought to the fore, Uber’s mishandling of background checks for its drivers. The ride hailing company had even been banned from running operations in the country for a while. Uber restarted its operations from June 2015.

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