‘Wah! The same again!’ Hong Kong pupil alerts teacher to possible test paper leak
Four educators accused of sharing pictures of questions via emails and WhatsApp messages
A shout from an excited little boy alerted a teacher to the possible leaking of interview questions for a school admission test.
At his interview, the kindergarten pupil said the Chinese and English words the teacher showed him were the same as those cited by his mother in revision practice the night before, Kowloon City Court heard yesterday.
Mak Suk-yee, a teacher at Church of Christ in China Heep Woh Primary School in Prince Edward, said the pupil’s reaction to the interview on June 14, 2014 was unusual.
Mak said she showed the boy some Chinese words and wanted to see whether the boy knew them. The boy replied: “The words were the same as those my mother revised with me last night.”
The words were the same as those my mother revised with me last night.
When Mak showed him some English words, the boy said: “Wah! The same again!”
Mak immediately suspected the test paper contents had been leaked and marked on the boy’s paper that “the result is not accurate”. She made a report to Chong Wai-chu, the teacher in charge of interview arrangements.
The court heard the school later found out the boy was referred by Tsang Wing-shan, 35, another teacher at the school.
Cheng Ka-yee, 38, who attended Chong’s briefing about the interview a day before, was alleged to have taken pictures of the test paper.
Tsang, Cheng and another colleague, Wong Pui-man, 41, as well as U Leng-kok, 37, a teacher from another primary school, are accused of leaking the questions through emails and WhatsApp messages. The four each deny one count of obtaining access to a computer with a view to dishonest gain.
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Sung Lit-yau, the principal of the school, said Chong held the briefing for the pupil admission interview on June 13, 2014. He said Chong allowed the teachers to have a look at the test paper but then retrieved it before the meeting ended.
Wong’s lawyer, James Tse, claimed Sung told the Independent Commission Against Corruption that the test paper was only a “reference” for teachers.
The trial continues today before Magistrate Veronica Heung Shuk-han.
