Taipei prosecutors yesterday indicted four suspects for their alleged cheating on the Joint College Entrance Exam (JCEE) in 1998, with the suspects now possibly facing two years in jail.
However, prosecutors also said that 12 students who they believed took part in the fraud did not break the Criminal Code and were freed.
"The key suspect, Lin Tsu-cheng (林子正), placed classified advertisements in newspapers and claimed that he had special tricks to help high-school students pass the JCEE," Taipei Prosecutor Meng Ling-shih (孟令士) said. "He charged NT$300,000 to NT$400,000 for each student who joined his class. Twelve high-school students who were planning to register for the 1998 JCEE ended up coming to him for help."
Meng said that Lin hired three college students, Liu Tai-yu (柳泰宇), Lee Ming-chi (李明琦) and Chu His-ping (朱熙平), to join the scheme. Their jobs were to take the JCEE with the other 12 students, finish the exam early, memorize the answers and leave the classroom. The three students were then to transmit the answers to the group of 12 from a nearby location through radio communications."
Under the plan, Meng also sought to minimize the risks posed by security checks, according to the prosecutor.
"Lin registered these three suspects with the other 12 students in Ilan to avoid restricted security checks by inspectors at schools in major cities where the JCEE was held," Meng said.
"Before the 12 students entered the classroom for the exam, Lin gave each one of them an earphone and a receiver. The earphones were small enough to be hidden inside an ear. As for the receivers, Lin hid them on the students' thighs, where they could be covered by their pants."
Meng said that Lin, Liu, Lee and Chu took advantage of the 12 students, who, worried about their futures, cheated on the JCEE exam. This manipulation, Meng said, warranted two years in prison.
Commenting on the 12 students, he said, "first of all, their violation of examination regulations did not fall under the Criminal Code.
"Second, even though they passed the exam, the Joint University Entrance Examination Committee (大學聯招會) still punished them after they were arrested by canceling their admission to colleges. As a result, prosecutors decided not to indict them."
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