A prominent Chinese scholar who has advised President Xi Jinping has been reprimanded by police in Singapore after being accused of sexually harassing his university staff.

Zheng Yongnian recently resigned as a director of the East Asian Institute (EAI) of the National University of Singapore after receiving a warning for “outraging modesty.” He was not charged.

The incident came to light after a woman who said she was a member of Zheng’s staff at the institute published a series of tweets last month where she described him as a “predator” who harassed his workers over the course of a decade. She said her ordeal began in May 2018, one month into the job.

“For the past decade, predator Zheng Yongnian has never stopped,” one of the tweets from the staff member, who called herself Charlotte, said. “But EAI management pretend[ed] not to know.”

Any victim who complained to the management would be bullied and then expelled in retaliation, she said.

She made a report to police last May and, following an investigation that lasted nearly one year, Zheng was given the warning. However, Charlotte said she was also given a so-called “soft warning.” She said in another tweet that she was “admonished” and told not to talk to other staffers who had also been harassed.

The allegations against Zheng, who is also head of contemporary Chinese studies at the Shenzhen branch of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, were dealt with seriously, the Singapore university said.

“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,” a university spokesperson said in a statement. “Help and support” has been given to affected staff members, the spokesperson said.

Born in Zhejiang province, Zheng is a well-known Chinese political scientist and researcher with a doctorate from Princeton University. He is among the senior advisers to Beijing, having taken part in discussions with Xi on social and economic issues, according to media reports.

He has been quoted by state-run media as criticizing pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong for taking away Beijing’s power to govern, calling for more control over the former British colony.

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