ANGRY students who fear they are victims of a distance learning scam have complained to police, it emerged last night. The Sunday Morning Post has learned Commercial Crime Bureau investigators are probing complaints about the Hong Kong branch of Kensington University, while the institute's Californian head has flown in to meet disgruntled students. University president Dr Clive Grafton arrived on Friday night, after stripping Teresa Li Suk-fun of her responsibilities as Kensington's local representative amid allegations of impropriety last month. Several of Kensington's 100 local students reported that Ms Li had urged them to switch their correspondence studies to the new Lincoln City University Ltd in Delaware - an institution established in name only. Dr Grafton, who spent yesterday meeting students, said he was trying to secure the release of their files from Ms Li, who held them despite a written demand from students that they be handed over. David Choi Kin-ping, 36, who runs his own building firm and has paid $41,000 towards his civil engineering degree with Kensington, said he reported the matter to police last week. 'I complained because I felt all of us are being cheated. We have never got the truth from Teresa Li,' Mr Choi said. 'I was told my assignments were being sent to the US to be marked, but they never were. I demanded my money back, but she refused.' Mr Choi said he had discovered none of his payments had reached Kensington's headquarters in the United States. Dr Grafton said the same was true for many other Hong Kong students. 'We think it is terrible that the students' files are being held hostage,' he said. 'They need them and we need them. These files do not belong to her and they could clear up questions that are very much on our minds. 'It's also tragic that many of the students have been taken in by an institution which is clearly fraudulent in its claims. 'Our information is that about 30 of our students have been signed over to this Lincoln City University. We are concerned they may have been intimidated into doing so.' Kensington also claims Ms Li is withholding more than US$100,000 (HK$774,000) - the US headquarters' share of local students' fees.
