Hong Kong DSE 2023: police arrest teacher over social media leak of marking scheme for Chinese writing exam
- Secondary school teacher, 38, suspected of leaking marking scheme for Chinese writing exam to drum up business as private tutor
- ‘The internet is not a lawless place, if anyone attempts to exploit the anonymity of the internet to commit illegal acts, the police will strictly enforce the law,’ force warns
The force on Saturday said the 38-year-old secondary school teacher surnamed Wong had allegedly breached the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA) Ordinance and claimed to be a marker for the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams.
“We suspect that the person wanted to attract students for private tutorial classes by posting the confidential document from the examinations body, and subsequently profit from it,” said Chan King-lok, a senior inspector with the Wan Chai district crime squad.
“According to our investigation, that person has never been a staff member or a marker of the HKEAA … So one of the major focuses of our investigation will be the source of the document, and we do not rule out more arrests.”
The user behind the posts, named “DSE Chinese 5** Teacher Wong” and later renamed to “DSE Miss huang 5**”, claimed to have 10 and 14 years of teaching and tutoring experience, respectively. The content and the account behind were subsequently deleted.
Police on Saturday said they were investigating the document’s source and whether the suspect had profited from leaking its contents.
Officers arrested Wong at his residence in Sham Shui Po on Friday after the examinations body filed a police report in mid-July. Investigators also seized his smartphone, tablet and laptop in connection with the case.
The suspect would be detained overnight as part of the investigation, the force said.
“The internet is not a lawless place, if anyone attempts to exploit the anonymity of the internet to commit illegal acts, the police will strictly enforce the law,” Chan said.
Ricardo Mak King-sang, director of the examinations body, on Tuesday said the incident represented a severe breach of the service agreement between markers and the organisation.
He also stressed the leak was an isolated incident as most of the markers strictly adhered to the organisation’s instructions.
The Education Bureau declined to comment, but said it was policy to assess whether professional misconduct was involved in such cases and review the relevant teacher’s registration, with the possibility of their licence being revoked.
The HKEAA also refused to comment further on the case after Wong’s arrest, but said it attached great importance to the confidentiality and fairness of public examinations.
It also noted that markers were required to keep their identities confidential under the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance.
The ordinance states that impersonating members of the body with intent to procure any advantage or reward can lead to a fine of HK$25,000 (US$3,200) and six months in jail.
Police warned that anyone appointed or hired by the authority should uphold the confidentiality of the materials they handled, including marking schemes, and failure constituted a separate offence punishable by a HK$25,000 fine and six months’ imprisonment.
