Everything You Need To Know About The NUS East Asian Institute Alleged Harassment Of A Staff

A staff member at East Asian Institute (EAI) of the National University of Singapore (NUS) has taken to the social media to accuse former director Professor Zheng Yongnian of sexual harassment.

Reported to the police after “a year’s struggle”

According to a series of Tweets, the purported victim – who identified herself as Charlotte – was sexually harassed in her first month of work in May 2018.

I was sexually harassed in the first month of my work at East Asian Institute of National University of Singapore in May 2018. After a year’s struggle I reported to the Singapore Police in May 2019. A warning was administrated to Zheng Yongnian in May 2020.

— Chary (@Chary19513) September 2, 2020

After “a year’s struggle”, she reported the incident to the police.

The investigation concluded and Zheng was administered “a warning for offence of Outrage of Modesty” in May 2020.

TODAYonline was able to verify that a police report was filed on May 13 last year against a 57-year-old man.

It involved an outrage-of-modesty incident that allegedly happened on May 30, 2018. A “stern warning” was issued to the alleged perpetrator on Apr 23 this year.

Fulfilling her obligation by informing the institute

In her following tweets, Charlotte wrote that she alerted the institute to the case out of a sense of obligation, even though she didn’t have to.

In response to that, university officers pestered her to recount the scenes of harassment and questioned her intentions with preconceptions.

They also asked for clarifications on “rumours fabricated by the accused person”, which she felt was a serious humiliation.

Serious allegations

Subsequently, Charlotte claimed to have received a “soft warning” from NUS and EAI management. They had also allegedly told her to stay away from other harassed female colleagues.

Charlotte insinuated that Zheng’s role within the management is related to their retaliation against those who speak up.

She also acknowledged his disproportionate advantage in causing “troubles in almost all aspects”, but encouraged other victims to not give up.

I understand that compared with me, a man like Zheng Yongnian has almost unlimited resources and could make you troubles in almost all aspects. But I think victims should not give up until we see the justice.

— Chary (@Chary19513) September 2, 2020

The statements, along with direct accusations that the EAI management has been turning a blind eye to Zheng’s behaviour for the past decade, implied that the case isn’t isolated.

More allegations on Weibo

On Tuesday (Sept 2), Charlotte resumed her Twitter thread with a screenshot from Weibo. It contains a confession from another of Zheng’s purported victim, which Charlotte used to establish him as a “repeating sexual predator”.

Zheng, who was director of EAI for 11 years, resigned from his position in May last year. He has been granted leave until his contract expires later this month, but remains a research professor at the institute.

The institutes’ response

An EAI spokesperson has responded to the recent events by saying that the institute and the university “take allegations of staff misconduct very seriously”.

According to Mothership, EAI also released an official statement.

You can read it in full below:

“We have taken note of the postings on social media of wide-ranging allegations with regard to the East Asian Institute and some of its current and former staff members.

Professor Zheng Yongnian has resigned from the East Asian Institute and NUS, and he has been granted leave until the expiry of his contract later this month.

We understand that a police investigation related to some of the allegations has been completed and the University is following up with its internal investigations into some of the matters mentioned in the posts.

The Institute and the University take allegations of staff misconduct very seriously. The Institute has been providing support and assistance to staff who may be affected by this matter, and will continue to do so.”

Meanwhile, a strange Twitter account with the handle @NUS_HR popped up to apologise to the victim and claimed that they are following up on the incident.

Hi @Chary19513, we are sorry to hear about your experience. The University is aware of this matter and internal investigations into some of the matters mentioned in your posts are ongoing. We will be in touch with you to address your concerns.

— NUS Human Resources (@NUS_HR) September 2, 2020

Which sounds awesome except the account was created in September 2020 with 0 followers and followings.

So it’s either NUS HR finally deciding to modernise itself and create a Twitter account or someone is out there trolling (again).