Sixteen people who sat entrance examinations for CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) last year were found to have cheated on the test and have been dismissed from their posts with immediate effect, the firm said yesterday.
CPC said that claims were made as early as last year that people had cheated on the exam.
It launched an internal investigation this year, and with the results supporting the claims, it turned the case over to the Agency Against Corruption in February, CPC said.
Photo: CNA
One employee admitted to hiring someone to take their place in the exam and has resigned, CPC said.
The person who took the test for the dismissed employee worked for CPC as well. He received two major demerits and was removed from his post, CPC said.
Internal investigations found three more employees who admitted to collaborating with exam cheating groups that had arranged people to take the test in their place, CPC Corp said, adding that the three were fired.
Photo: Huang Pei-chun, Taipei Times
Those suspected of having cheated were asked to resit the exam, with 16 scoring lower than last year, it said. One scored 26.25 on the retest, compared with 96.75 last year.
While some denied cheating, their inability to answer basic questions showed they could not meet the needs of the company, CPC Corp said, adding that their contracts were terminated on March 21.
Meanwhile, a source said that he recognized an alleged leader of an exam cheating organization outside the building where state-run Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) entrance exams were being conducted on July 15.
The source said Chen Wen-chi (陳文棋) approached several of those who were taking the exam.
The source called CPC Corp and the police.
CPC Corp said it informed Taipower immediately and five people approached by Chen were detained by the Kaohsiung Police Department for questioning.
Chen’s organization is suspected of helping people cheat on entrance exams for universities, Bank of Taiwan (臺灣銀行), China Steel Corp (中鋼) and Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), CPC said.
As the exams are not controlled by the Examination Yuan, cheaters cannot be prosecuted according to Article 137 of the Criminal Code, which might be why cheating groups are so bold in offering their services for the Taipower exams, CPC said.
To help prevent further cheating, CPC said it would ask exam takers to provide recent photographs of themselves and would change the exam format to include more written answers.
Measures to prevent the use of communication devices would be considered at exam centers and metal detectors might be installed to prevent such devices being taken into exams, it said.
UPDATED (3:40pm): A suspected gas explosion at a shopping mall in Taichung this morning has killed four people and injured 20 others, as emergency responders continue to investigate. The explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in Situn District (西屯) at 11:33am. One person was declared dead at the scene, while three people were declared deceased later after receiving emergency treatment. Another 20 people sustained major or minor injuries. The Taichung Fire Bureau said it received a report of the explosion at 11:33am and sent rescuers to respond. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation, it said. The National Fire
ACCOUNTABILITY: The incident, which occured at a Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung, was allegedly caused by a gas explosion on the 12th floor Shin Kong Group (新光集團) president Richard Wu (吳昕陽) yesterday said the company would take responsibility for an apparent gas explosion that resulted in four deaths and 26 injuries at Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang Store in Taichung yesterday. The Taichung Fire Bureau at 11:33am yesterday received a report saying that people were injured after an explosion at the department store on Section 3 of Taiwan Boulevard in Taichung’s Situn District (西屯). It sent 56 ambulances and 136 paramedics to the site, with the people injured sent to Cheng Ching Hospital’s Chung Kang Branch, Wuri Lin Shin Hospital, Taichung Veterans General Hospital or Chung
ALL-IN-ONE: A company in Tainan and another in New Taipei City offer tours to China during which Taiwanese can apply for a Chinese ID card, the source said The National Immigration Agency and national security authorities have identified at least five companies that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese identification cards while traveling in China, a source said yesterday. The issue has garnered attention in the past few months after YouTuber “Pa Chiung” (八炯) said that there are companies in Taiwan that help Taiwanese apply for Chinese documents. Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) last week said that three to five public relations firms in southern and northern Taiwan have allegedly assisted Taiwanese in applying for Chinese ID cards and were under investigation for potential contraventions of the Act Governing
‘LAWFUL USE’: The last time a US warship transited the Taiwan Strait was on Oct. 20 last year, and this week’s transit is the first of US President Donald Trump’s second term Two US military vessels transited the Taiwan Strait from Sunday through early yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said in a statement, the first such mission since US President Donald Trump took office last month. The two vessels sailed south through the Strait, the ministry said, adding that it closely monitored nearby airspace and waters at the time and observed nothing unusual. The ministry did not name the two vessels, but the US Navy identified them as the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson and the Pathfinder-class survey ship USNS Bowditch. The ships carried out a north-to-south transit from