Mainland Chinese student jailed for 3 months for cheating in TOEFL test

A mainland Chinese student has been jailed for three months for paying an impostor to take an English proficiency test in Cambodia on her behalf and submitting the results to a university in Hong Kong to meet graduation requirements.

Tuen Mun Court on Monday ruled that a community service order would not help Huang Xinyi turn over a new leaf after a probation officer’s testimony about her “distorted values” and “deep-rooted disregard” for academic honesty.

Magistrate David Chum Yau-fong said a deterrent sentence was required in light of the proliferation of similar crimes in recent years and stronger efforts by tertiary institutions to verify students’ claims about their academic credentials.

“Education resources are wasted unnecessarily to conduct verifications because some students are using various means to deceive their schools. This is also unfair to other students,” Chum said.

Huang admitted last month to submitting to Lingnan University a Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) certificate she obtained in May 2024 for US$300 (HK$2,350) without taking the exam herself.

The 22-year-old defendant from Fujian province was then pursuing a bachelor’s degree in public administration and smart governance, which requires a minimum TOEFL score of 87 or a score of 6.5 from the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) for graduation.