JAKARTA - A member of the academic staff at the National University of Singapore was fired for sexual offenses following an investigation into an anonymous complaint in August, on Tuesday, December 1.
The anonymous complaint accuses Professor Theodore G Hopf of the university's political science department at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of sexually assaulting a student, NUS said in a statement.
The university said it had conducted interviews with students and Hopf. After that, on September 15th, professors were prohibited from contacting any NUS students. He was suspended and ordered to live off campus while the investigation was ongoing, NUS said.
An investigation team was formed on 7 October and the student, accompanied by an officer from the NUS Victims Care Unit, was interviewed on 21 October.
Because Hopf needed treatment for a serious medical condition, organizers interviewed him on November 13, said NUS. The committee then submitted its report on November 18.
Upon investigation, it was found that during a meeting between Hopf and students in August, Hopf offered the students alcohol and they drank together. Hopf admitted that he also made statements that touched on certain parts of his students' bodies.
NUS refused to reveal the identity of these students as male or female.
Hopf allegedly pulled the student towards him by force twice, during which the student fought back, backed off and told him to stop.
Hopf admitted to putting his hand on the student's shoulder, but denied pulling the student towards him.
The student also said that in October 2018, Hopf sent him sexually explicit text messages. Hopf admitted to sending the message, but said it was misdirected.
“The committee decided that Professor Hopf had failed to act with the courtesy, respect and courtesy expected of university staff. He has sexually abused the student in physical, verbal and written forms. His behavior is a serious violation of the NUS Staff Code of Conduct, ”said the university.
It said that in addition to dismissing Hopf, it also filed a police report on November 27 after telling students it would do so in accordance with its legal obligations.
The case is the latest in a series of actions - the third in less than two months - taken by the university against professors for inappropriate or inappropriate sexual behavior.
Two weeks ago, NUS revealed that a former East Asia Institute professor, Zheng Yongnian, had acted "inappropriately in a professional environment" by hugging a colleague without his consent.
However, Zheng had left the university by the time the investigation was over.
NUS said he would receive a written warning of his actions if he was still working at the university.
A month earlier, the university fired Dr. Jeremy Fernando, who teaches at Tembusu College, after he was found to have "inappropriate" behavior with students.
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