Hong Kong teachers cleared over leaking entrance exam questions to parents
One teacher said she was not aware the questions she leaked were intended for the eventual exam
Four Hong Kong primary school teachers accused of leaking questions on an entry exam walked free on Thursday from a trial which might have arisen from an internal dispute among staff.
Cheng Ka-yee, Tsang Wing-shan, and Wong Pui-man, from Church of Christ in China Heep Woh Primary School in Prince Edward, burst into tears when they learned of their acquittals at Kowloon City Court.
Also acquitted was Tsang’s former classmate in university, U Leng-kok, a teacher at another primary school.
The four, aged between 35 and 41, were originally charged with obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonest gain, in that they allegedly leaked pictures and copies of the questions concerned via WhatsApp and email in June 2014.
The questions eventually found their way to parents, some of whom had asked the teachers to refer their kids to the school.
But magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han said on Thursday she could not identify any dishonesty involved and cast doubt on the testimony given by Heep Wo’s senior school promotional officer, Chong Wai-chu, a prosecution witness.
Leaving court, Tsang, who has been suspended alongside the other teachers, alluded to the conflict which might have burst into the open through the case.
READ MORE: Hong Kong pupil alerts teacher to possible test paper leak
She said: “I think the most innocent ones are the students. From the start until the end, [the allegations have] always been from that ridiculous teacher.”
Without naming any names, she said the court had already given away who the person was.
Her comments came shortly after the magistrate explained in detail why she thought Chong might have failed to warn the defendants of confidentiality issues raised by sending out the questions.
Chong had insisted in court she repeated the warnings at a briefing session on June 13 2014, though Heung said on Thursday she doubted that.
Outside court, Tsang said she had been picked on by an unnamed vice-principal, which the principal admitted.
She also said she was not aware the questions she leaked, designed solely by Chong, were intended for the eventual exam, because Chong had never shown them to any school panels or the principal.
The magistrate ruled that although some of the defendants took pictures of the questions at the briefing, they did not do it stealthily – inconsistent with the charge of dishonest intent.
When Chong suspected Cheng took pictures at the briefing, however, she did not stop her, Heung noted.
Heung also said it matched what Tsang told the officers of Independent Commission Against Corruption that she took pictures of the questions because she wanted to share with Wong, who might not be able to make it to the briefing that day.
The court heard earlier after receiving Tsang’s photos, Wong typed the questions up and sent it to others, including back to Tsang.
But Heung refused to grant costs to Cheng, Tsang and Wong, saying that they drew suspicion upon themselves.
