A visiting graduate school fellow in the University's linguistics department has been charged with the assault and battery of a university employee in Loker Commons last month, with a pretrial hearing for the case set for next week.

On the morning of March 23, Yagang Fan, a native of China, allegedly attacked Deborah C. Peters, the manager of Loker, punching her in the head and chest, according to a police report.

Peters said that the incident was the culmination of weeks of harassment and threats she received from Fan that began shortly after Fan's wife, Daihong Wu, was not hired for a job as a cashier.

On Feb. 21 Fan and Wu came to Loker and spoke with Peters about the job, and after the interview, Wu and Fan offered Peters a bottle of perfume, Peters said.

"They said that it was a 'first time meeting you gift,'" Peters said. "I didn't know if it was a tradition in their culture and didn't want to offend them so I took it. I thought it was a gift, not an attempted bribe."

Peter said that when Fan's wife did not receive the job he returned to Loker and said that gifts were only for people who helped each other.

The day before the alleged incident last month, Wu came into Loker to speak with Peters.

"She came right behind the counter and started screaming and crying about not getting the job," Peters said.