No evidence exam question leaked: official

The examinations authority has found no evidence to support allegations that one of this year's Certificate of Education Examination questions was leaked to a cram school, legislators were told yesterday.

Students complained to the Examinations and Assessment Authority in April that one of three options for the topic of a composition essay in this year's Chinese language paper was almost identical to a practice test handed out by tutors at King's Glory Education Centre.

The exam paper prompted students to write about 'lemon tea' while the mock exam had posed 'iced lemon tea', causing a number of students to query whether examiners had tipped off the tutorial centre.

In a written response to the Legislative Council, Secretary for the Civil Service Denise Yue Chung-yee said the authority's initial investigation had 'found no evidence of a leak'.

Miss Yue was standing in for Secretary for Education and Manpower Arthur Li Kwok-cheung to respond to a question from real estate and construction legislator Abraham Razack.

An authority spokesman said the finding was based on its reports.