Diplomatic immunity claim after ambassador's Chinese wife slaps worker

Diplomatic immunity claim after ambassador's Chinese wife slaps worker

May 18, 2021

The Chinese wife of Belgium's ambassador to South Korea is exercising her diplomatic immunity to avoid charges for allegedly slapping a store assistant in April, police said today.

Ambassador Peter Lescouhier previously apologized on behalf of his wife, Xiang Xueqiu, saying she "might have had her reasons to be angry at the way she was treated in that shop, but committing physical violence is totally unacceptable."

"She sincerely regrets it and she wants to offer her apologies in person to the shopkeeper when she gets the opportunity to do so," Lescouhier said in a video uploaded to Instagram last week, adding his wife was "cooperating actively with the police.

Belgian ambassador's wife slaps South Korean shop assistant

The embassy apologised on her behalf. (Supplied)

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"We can understand her anger but that does not justify her violent behavior," the employee said, adding that the woman who was slapped suffered ringing in her ear and "mental anguish. "We're not sure if we'll be able to get a genuine apology

 through reporting this incident but this could happen to other employees in the service industry," the store said in a statement.

"In a hope to prevent any future recurrences, by someone who abuses one's power, we're providing this footage."

According to the Belgian Embassy, Xiang was hospitalized following the incident, but has since been discharged.

The use of diplomatic immunity has been controversial in other countries in the past.