Xiaomi Africa head Wang Lingming has been dismissed from service on charges of molestation. The Human Resources Department of Xiaomi Group issued an email to the members of the International Department of the company to announce the dismissal of Lingming. He has been accused of violating the Article 44 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on Penalties for Administration of Public Security.

The email states that the company follows a zero-tolerance for such violations. The Chinese firm believes that obeying the law of the country is the most basic requirement for all its employees.  After holding discussions with the management members, the International Department of Xiaomi Group decided to detain Lingming from work for five days. The email has not revealed exact details on the molestation charges on Lingming.

The Article 44 in the Law of the PRC on Penalties for Administration of Public Security reads: A person who molests another person or intentionally exposes his/her body in a public place, if the circumstances are abominable, shall be detained for not less than 5 days but not more than 10 days; if a person molests a mentally disabled person, or a person suffering mental disorder, or a person who has not attained to the age of 14, or commits such act with other serious circumstances, he shall be detained for not less than 10 days but not more than 15 days.

Editor’s Pick: Amazon reportedly working on a wearable device that recognizes human emotions

Before joining Xiaomi Group in the first half of 2017, Lingming had previously served as the first director of the Telephone World Group and Vice President of Tainyu Mobile. He is known for his management experience in the supply chain, marketing, and retail. In the early days of joining Xiaomi, he was General Manager of domestic sales and service department. In 2019, he was transferred to the International Department. He was serving as Vice President of Xiaomi Group and head of the Africa Regional Department.

UP NEXT: Xiaomi sends out invite for Redmi K20 launch, includes boxing gloves

(source)

The post Xiaomi Africa head Wang Lingming dismissed on Molestation Charges appeared first on Gizmochina.

In Africa, Apple isn’t king, neither is Samsung or any of the other big names in the mobile industry. The African mobile phone market is controlled by Transsion Holdings, owners of Tecno, Infinix, and Itel phone brands. Now, Xiaomi has announced the establishment of an African Regional Department to challenge the Shenzhen-based Transsion.

According to a market research analysis for the first quarter of 2018, Samsung held the largest market share but Transsion’s Tecno and Itel brands had the second and third largest market share while its Infinix brand came in at 5th place just behind Huawei. Collectively, that makes Transsion Holdings the leader of the smartphone market.

Xiaomi wants some of that market share and this isn’t surprising. The brand has been on an expansion streak in the last 18 months. It has opened up shop in new countries and regions and now it wants to come to Africa.

This isn’t actually Xiaomi’s first foray into the African market. A few years ago, it launched a few phones in Nigeria but was barred by a court injunction from selling any more phones and products. The injunction which was obtained by a South African phone company called Mi-Fone prevented Xiaomi from selling any phone or product with the trade name “Mi”. Xiaomi later obtained a pass that allowed it to sell its products in Nigeria.

However, only a few Xiaomi phones have been sold since then and actually by retail partners. Last year, the Redmi Note 5A and Redmi Note 5 were sold by e-Commerce store, Jumia. The Redmi 6A is also currently available on the retail site. Apart from these devices, there isn’t really an official presence in the country. There is also no after-sales service. Nevertheless, Xiaomi products are quite popular as a lot of people import them from outside the continent.

Now that Xiaomi has established an African Regional Department, things should be much different. We should see devices get official launches in different countries and there should be official after-sales support.

According to the official memo, Xiaomi’s African Regional Department will be headed by Wang Lingming and he will report to Wang Xiang.

READ MORE: Xiaomi restructures company again this year, makes Wang Chuan head of China

Xiaomi also announced changes in other regions. Indonesia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia will now be under the newly formed Southeast Asia Region headed by Shi Yan. There is also a new head for Russia and CIS regional departments, and the patent department has now been merged with the legal department.

(Via)

The post Xiaomi announces creation of African Regional Department to take on market king, Transsion Holdings appeared first on Gizmochina.