Graduate stalked professor and invited her to imaginary wedding

‘I have started watching my back in case he is following me. I have found his actions intimidating’

A UNIVERSITY graduate stalked his professor for three years, before inviting her to their imaginary wedding.

Tin Yeung, now 28, harassed Professor Erengul Dodd, his University of Southampton maths lecturer, in a “sinister” campaign that has been described as “delusional” and “disturbing”.

The former student repeatedly sent her emails referring to himself as her “husband”, her “faithful follower”, and “dear slave”, printed out photos of her six-year-old son from Facebook and even went as far as to book a registry office for their wedding.

Prof Dodd was forced to temporarily move workplaces over the “fear”, “worry” and “anxiety” he caused her.

She said: “I have no idea why he contacts me like this. I have never had anything but a professional relationship with him. To me, this person is a former student who I plan to keep in the past.”

Southampton magistrates’ court handed Yeung a restraining order and banned him from entering Hampshire, saying his “serious” behaviour was “just not on”.

Yeung joined Prof Dodd’s lectures in September 2015 while completing his final year of study in actuarial mathematics and went on to graduate “without issue” in June 2016.

But three years after his graduation, Prof Dodd returned from a lunch break to find her former student standing outside of her office, which quickly turned into a “regular” occurrence.

From then she would receive emails that were often of a “sexual nature” and in one incident in June 2020, Yeung invited his former lecturer to a marriage ceremony for the two of them.

The prosecutor told the court: “He booked a registry office and sent her an email inviting her to their wedding.”

Prof Dodd described Yeung’s advances as “delusional” and “disturbing”. In a victim impact read out to the court, she said: “[His actions] caused me to change my place of work temporarily. I have started watching my back in case he is following me. I have found his actions intimidating.”

Referring to Yeung printing photos of her son, Prof Dodd said it left her feeling “anxious and shocked”.

She added: “Thinking about what his intentions may have been made me very nervous about the safety of myself and my family.”

Yeung pleaded guilty to stalking Prof Dodd for the period between July 2019 to April last year and has “no intention” of contacting Prof Dodd any further.

Sentencing the former student, Magistrate Gary Chant said: “This was a very serious offence of which the stalking took place over a long period of time.

“You were found in possession of her family photos, photos that included her six year old son. She had to temporarily move her place of work which is just not on.”