We often see students coming up with unusual ways to pass their exams, but one case in Hong Kong has shocked many for crossing the line into fraud.
According to a report by the South China Morning Post, a 22-year-old Chinese student has been jailed for three months after paying an impostor to take an English proficiency test on her behalf.
The student, Huang Xinyi from Fujian province, submitted the fake result to Lingnan University in Hong Kong to meet her graduation requirements.
Zero tolerance for fraud:
The case was heard at Tuen Mun Court on Monday. Magistrate David Chum Yau-fong said a jail term was necessary to send a strong warning, as similar cheating cases have increased in recent years.
“Education resources are wasted unnecessarily to conduct verifications because some students are using various means to deceive their schools. This is also unfair to other students.” Chum said.
Xinyi admitted she paid US$300 for a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) certificate in May 2024, even though she did not sit the exam herself.
She told police she had failed to reach the required score in four earlier TOEFL and IELTS tests. Her degree course required a minimum TOEFL score of 87 or an IELTS score of 6.5 to graduate.
Hired a fraudster:
Xinyi also travelled to Cambodia to retake the test, believing it would be easier there. On the exam day, she claimed she felt unwell and hired a fraudster outside the test centre to take the exam in her place.
When Lingnan University questioned the result, Xinyi said she had changed the photo on the report because she did not like how she looked.
However, after the university contacted the US-based Educational Testing Service, which runs the TOEFL, the fraud was confirmed. Xinyi later admitted to cheating.
The court heard that Xinyi had applied for a master’s programme in mid-2024 even though she knew she had not met the English requirement. A probation officer said her regret was not genuine and came only from fear of jail.
Although her lawyer asked for a lighter sentence, the court rejected the request. The magistrate reduced the original five-month term to three months because she pleaded guilty and cooperated with the university’s disciplinary process.