Reader Katherine Ngai was stuck in a gridlock during the May 9 rainstorm that bought Kowloon traffic to a standstill. As a result, she was almost an hour late for her final diploma exam in English and Chinese run by the Hong Kong Examination and Assessment Authority and the Institute of Linguists. She has been studying for the diploma for three years.
She says that under the circumstances, she is entitled to either receive a refund or to retake the exam.
'As a local organiser, HKEAA is responsible for reporting these unusual circumstances to the Institute of Linguists since they had no idea how serious this incident was,' she said
'The exam was supposed to take place from 2.30pm to 4.30pm. Unfortunately there was a huge and chaotic traffic jam on Kowloon side due to three accidents in East Kowloon.
'I arrived at 3.25pm and I was informed that I only had one hour to finish the paper. Subsequently, I explained this traffic congestion to both the Institute of Linguists and the HKEAA, and asked them to arrange a resit of the examination. They both declined. I demand either a resit of this examination or a refund of my fee.'
'The institute's board, having considered Ms Ngai's special case, agreed to inform the marking examiners and moderators of the situation so that they will take it into consideration when marking her scripts,' an HKEAA spokeswoman said.