$8k fine for ex-NTU researcher who stalked PhD student, sent him 116 e-mails
SINGAPORE – She was a researcher at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) when she got to know a man who was pursuing his PhD there.
Han Xiaobing, 34, developed feelings for the 29-year-old man but he rejected her advances.
On Oct 25, 2023, he obtained a protection order against the Chinese national, prohibiting her from acts including communicating with him and entering places he frequented.
Despite this, Han sent him a total of 116 e-mails until December that year and even went to his workplace.
She was fined $8,000 after she pleaded guilty to two harassment charges on Aug 21. Details about the man were redacted from court documents.
Han will have to spend eight weeks behind bars if she fails to fork out the amount. She was not represented by a lawyer, and told the court that she is now jobless.
In February 2021, the man decided to block all electronic communications with Han after he grew uncomfortable with her long messages in which she expressed her feelings for him.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said: “However, the accused persisted in attempting to communicate with him and find him in person, eventually leading the victim to apply for a protection order against the accused.”
However, Han sent him 116 e-mails between October and December 2023, demanding to talk to him in person.
On Dec 7, 2023, she arrived at his Fusionopolis workplace, went to a counter in a lobby and asked to see the man.
When she returned there five days later, he alerted the police, stating that she was refusing to abide by the terms of the protection order.
The man also said that her actions were making him feel extremely stressed.
Police questioned Han on Dec 18, 2023, and she promised to adhere to the conditions of the order.
But on Jan 3, the man was working in a lab at NTU as part of his research when she turned up wanting to speak to him. Court documents did not state how she knew he was at the university that day.
The DPP said: “(Through a window), she saw the victim... who registered her presence and exited the office to inform her that he would be calling the police. The accused then left NTU without saying a word to the victim.”
On Aug 21, the DPP sought a fine of $7,500 for Han, whose actions “affected the victim emotionally”.
“The frequency of the accused’s stalking was high. Over the course of six weeks, the accused entered the victim’s workplace on two separate occasions and sent a total of 116 e-mails to the victim.”
Han pleaded for a lighter sentence and said that she had $4,000.
Without revealing any details, she told the court that she had lost money in a scam and was facing financial difficulties.
The court then allowed her to pay her fine in instalments.
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NTU researcher stalked PhD student she developed feelings for and sent him 116 emails, gets fine
The victim obtained a protection order against the 34-year-old woman, but she kept sending him emails and even visited his workplace.SINGAPORE: A researcher at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) developed feelings for a PhD student who was helping with her project.
She began sending him long messages, persisting in sending him 116 emails and stalking him despite the man obtaining a protection order against her.
The woman also visited the man's workplace in Fusionopolis and asked to see him.
Han Xiaobing, a 34-year-old Chinese national, was fined S$8,000 (US$6,124) by a court on Wednesday (Aug 21) for her actions.
She pleaded guilty to two charges under the Protection from Harassment Act of unlawful stalking and contravening a protection order, with a third charge taken into consideration.
The court heard that the victim, a 29-year-old Chinese national, got to know Han while he was obtaining a PhD degree at NTU. A software developer and analyst, he assisted Han on a research project.
Han began having personal feelings for the victim, which he rebuffed.
In February 2021, after the victim grew uncomfortable with Han sending him long messages and repeatedly expressing her feelings for him, the victim blocked all electronic communications from Han.
However, Han still tried to contact him, and the victim eventually obtained a protection order under the Protection from Harassment Act against Han on Oct 25, 2023.
The order prohibited Han from stalking the victim through any means, making any communication to him or attempting to do so. It also barred Han from entering or loitering in any place near the victim's workplace or any other place he frequents.
Between Oct 25, 2023 and Dec 12, 2023, Han sent 116 emails to the victim's NTU email account. In them, she demanded to see him and speak to him in person.
On Dec 7, 2023, she went to the victim's workplace and asked the counter staff at the lobby if she could see him. However, he was not there.
Han returned five days later and asked to see the victim again.
The victim made a police report later that day, saying Han was not abiding by the terms of the protection order and that her actions were making him "extremely stressed".
The police questioned Han about a week after this, and she admitted to stalking the victim. She promised to adhere to the protection order conditions and cease all communications with him.
However, she visited the victim again on Jan 3 this year, when the victim was working in a school laboratory at NTU as part of his research.
Han approached his office and saw him through the window. The victim registered her presence and left his office to tell Han that he would be calling the police.
Han then left the university without saying a word to the victim.
SENTENCING SUBMISSIONS
The prosecution sought a fine of S$7,500 for Han, saying her actions affected the victim emotionally. The frequency of her stalking was also high, he said.
Han was not represented. She told the court through an interpreter that she had been jobless for a year and eight months because of this incident and asked for leniency.
The judge said the victim had gone to the extent of obtaining a protection order, but Han failed to stop her conduct.
For unlawful stalking, she could have been jailed for up to 12 months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
For contravening a protection order, she could have been jailed for up to six months, fined up to S$5,000, or both.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...-student-116-emails-han-xiaobing-fine-4558216
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