Zheng Yongnian, a Chinese scholar who has advised President Xi Jinping, has denied all allegations of sexual harassment against him from his former colleagues at the National University of Singapore.

Two staffers from the university’s East Asian Institute had lodged reports with the police and publicized their claims against Zheng on social media. Zheng has not been charged by police, but had been issued a warning by authorities. He recently resigned as a director of the institute after being issued an “outraging modesty” warning by police in April.

Zheng’s lawyer issued a statement on Friday night, which said that the warning by the police “does not amount to a pronouncement of guilt or finding of fact.” They clarified that Zheng’s resignation from the NUS had had no relation to the allegations and complaints, and Zheng “continues to lend his utmost cooperation in the ongoing investigations by NUS.”

The police had followed up a claim made last May by an employee, who called herself Charlotte, that Zheng was a “predator” who harassed his workers over the course of a decade. Zheng was never charged.

A NUS spokesperson said the internal investigation of the event was still ongoing, therefore they could not further comment on the event.

Another female employee accused Zheng of indecently assaulting her back in 2012, with the police taking no further action after investigation. The NUS spokesperson said it was aware of the police report, but the employee had not lodged any complaints with the school.

In response to an enquiry from local newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, the employee said she had complained to the EAI management since 2017, but was ignored. She said she had only recently found out she was not the only victim, which led her to file a police report in May. She left the EAI in July when her contract expired after working there for 10 years.

The NUS spokesperson said the university would not endure any form of sexual misconduct and there were proper investigation procedures to handle such complaints made by employees. The spokesperson clarified that Zheng had resigned from the EAI to join an overseas education institution and he was granted leave until his contract ended this month.

Zheng, who is also head of contemporary Chinese studies at the Shenzhen branch of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was considering his legal options, according to his lawyer.

Born in Zhejiang province, Zheng 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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