Police yesterday said they caught a student cheating during the nationwide university entrance exam on Friday. They arrested the student and two Tainan men suspected of helping him, and are now looking for other possible members of a criminal cheating ring.
"We suspect that a couple of people connected to a private school in Tainan set up the cheating system. Students paid them between NT$200,000 and NT$ 400,000 (US$6,320 to US$12,640) for their help cheating on the exam," said Tsai Cang-bo (蔡蒼柏), a police official from the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) in charge of the case.
Tainan Police on Friday arrested a student surnamed Chen who received remote help in cheating on the exam.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
"The group used cellphones, watches or earphones to contact students taking the exam. Chen became nervous while wearing an earphone and receiver during the exam, and his strange behavior was noticed by a test monitor," Tsai added.
Police said Chen and his mother admitted to police they paid a man named Chen Chin-fu (
Chen's mother said that she helped arrange the cheating system for her son so that he could enter a good university.
Police said a university graduate surnamed Chiu pretended to be a younger college hopeful and quickly completed a physics exam on Friday. He then called Chen Chin-fu by phone and relayed to him answers that he had memorized. Chen Chin-fu then transmitted the answers via an earphone to the student surnamed Chen, who was still taking the test, police said.
Chen was next set to receive answers for a chemistry exam that Chiu had just completed, but was detected by a monitor, police said.
Police arrested Chen Chin-fu and Chiu, and are still looking for other members of the group.
Chen Chin-fu said that he was a teacher for a private extension school in Tainan. Chiu told police he was paid by Chen Chin-fu to help with the cheating scam.
Police said that the group may have helped a number of other students cheating for the nationwide exams, which are being held through today.
Police yesterday sent equipment for detecting electronic devices to test sites to prevent further cheating.
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