An academic who had his Singapore permanent residency revoked for working as an "agent of influence" for a foreign government has left Singapore with his wife.
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) confirmed the departure of Dr Huang Jing, 60, and his wife, Ms Shirley Yang Xuiping, in a statement yesterday.
The duo, who had their permanent residency cancelled last month, are permanently banned from Singapore.
The MHA said last month that Dr Huang had used his position as a senior academic in the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy to "deliberately and covertly advance the agenda of a foreign country at Singapore's expense".
He did so in collaboration with foreign intelligence agents, in a bid to influence foreign policy and public opinion here, the ministry said, without naming the foreign country involved.
"This amounts to subversion and foreign interference in Singapore's domestic politics. Huang's continued presence in Singapore and that of his wife are therefore undesirable," it said. It noted that Ms Yang was aware of her husband's actions.
Dr Huang was director of the Centre on Asia and Globalisation and Lee Foundation professor on US- China relations at the LKY School, and his views on China and foreign policy issues were regularly sought by organisations and the media.
Besides writing for Singapore newspapers, he also contributed articles to China's Global Times, a newspaper closely linked to the Chinese government.
The China-born couple, who are United States citizens, appealed against the cancellation to the Minister for Home Affairs. After their appeal was rejected, they were given a 14-day grace period - till Sept 6 - to leave Singapore.
Dr Huang earlier told The Straits Times they would return to the US, where they have a house in the state of Virginia.
The National University of Singapore, of which the LKY School is a part, terminated Dr Huang's employment as he no longer had the necessary immigration permits to work in Singapore.
Royston Sim
Correction note: The headline of this story has been corrected to indicate MHA as the source. We are sorry for the error.
