Hong Kong police arrested two female Chinese nationals, aged 24 and 34, in relation to the case. - THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG/FACEBOOK
HONG KONG: Two women were arrested for allegedly forging documents after 30 master’s students were caught using fake qualifications to enter the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Business School, Hong Kong media reported.
The school’s dean, Professor Cai Hongbin, said more students may be implicated, predicting the number to rise to 80 or 100, The Standard reported, citing Prof Cai’s interview with Caixin Global published on July 4.
The arrest came after the school, on May 31, said it had made a police report about suspected fraudulent student admissions and warned students not to risk gaining entry through illegal means.
Those guilty of forgery or providing fake degrees in Hong Kong may be sentenced to a maximum of 14 years in prison.
An in-depth investigation found that the 30 master’s students caught were Chinese, and the agencies that helped fabricate the documents were based outside Hong Kong.
Only fake papers passed off as those awarded by overseas universities, not schools in China and Hong Kong, were discovered.
“The school hopes to summarise its experience in this investigation and publicise the means of these ‘illegal agencies’ in forging documents so other universities in Hong Kong can plug the loopholes while admitting students,” said Prof Cai, as quoted in the South China Morning Post (SCMP).
The counterfeit documents – transcripts, degree certificates, envelopes and seals – were made so realistic that the school could not tell hey were fake, said the business school.
An overseas study consultant, who was identified only by the surname Li, told Caixin that such agency agreements obtained by the HKU Business School showed that the “guaranteed admission” service fees could range from 500,000 yuan (S$93,000) to HK$1 million (S$173,000).
Hong Kong police said on July 4 they had arrested two Chinese nationals, aged 24 and 34, in relation to the case, SCMP reported. The women were caught while crossing the Hong Kong and China border.
The 24-year-old was charged with using forged documents and hauled to court in June, while the 34-year-old was still being detained for investigation.
The business school said disqualifying the students involved in the incident would not discourage agencies, prospective students and their parents from attempting the ruse, reported SCMP.
“The school has asked the students who were found to have used forged qualifications to actively facilitate the probe,” the school added.
It said it asked those who once hired agencies to forge qualifications to provide details of the deals made with the agencies and make a police report.
The school has since required all its master’s students to resubmit their undergraduate studies qualifications for checking.
New students would also need to be interviewed by the school on top of submitting their bachelor’s degrees and transcripts, and get their academic certificates verified by third parties, Caixin reported. - The Straits Times/ANN
