'Star' Tutor Convicted Of Leaking Exam Questions

A former celebrity tutor is facing time behind bars after being found guilty of conspiring with two examiners to leak questions for key university entrance exams in 2016 and 2017.

Weslie Siao, a former star Chinese language instructor at Modern Education, was convicted of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office at the Tuen Mun Magistracy on Monday.

Two oral examiners with the Examinations Authority, Cheung Kwok-kuen and Ng Wang-leung, were found guilty of the same charge.

They had sent confidential questions and other key information about the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) examinations to Siao.

The magistrate said while there was no evidence to show that the defendants’ had actually affected the tests, they had nonetheless given rise to a perception of unfairness, and had severely affected the entire DSE examination system.

Custodial sentences, she said, were therefore unavoidable.

All three were remanded in custody, until sentencing on May 25.

However, Siao’s wife, Tsai Ying-ying, was cleared of misconduct in public office.

She was accused of sending exam questions to her husband while she was in the toilet, in the middle of a test she was invigilating.

The Examinations Authority said all examiners are required to keep all information about examinations confidential, and strict controls are placed throughout the process – from designing exam questions, to how they’re packaged and distributed.

The authority said it had teamed up with the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) this year to raise anti-corruption awareness.