Hong Kong woman faces possible jail time over leaking university entrance exam paper on social media
Hong Kong Free Press
A Hong Kong woman has been remanded into custody pending sentencing, after she pleaded guilty to breaching confidentiality rules by leaking a university entrance examination paper on social media.
Lau Kwun-hei, 23, pleaded guilty to one count of “breach of secrecy” under the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority Ordinance on Wednesday at Eastern Magistrates’ Courts, local media reported. Principal Magistrate Don So ordered her to be taken into custody while awaiting sentencing on October 9.
Lau was arrested in April on suspicion of sharing a test paper from the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) on Chinese social media platform Xiaohongshu.
According to local media, Lau, who was a teaching assistant at a secondary school in Wong Tai Sin, acted as an external invigilator during this year’s HKDSE exams. She had signed confidentiality agreements and supervised candidates during tests including the English-language listening exam.
On April 16, three days after the listening test, an assistant from the Hong Kong Examinations Authority (HKEAA) discovered that the English Language paper had been shared on Xiaohongshu by an account named “Ms.lucy.” The HKEAA later reported the incident to the police.
Local media reported that the leaked exam paper had already been deleted from the social media platform when police began investigating. But earlier screenshots of the post showed that the Xiaohongshu account appealed to new transfer students in Hong Kong and offered education consultation.
Lau turned herself in to the HKEAA and admitted under caution that she had taken extra answer sheets and shared them on her personal account. She said she wanted to launch an online teaching business, news reports read.
Under the HKEAA ordinance, anyone convicted of contravening the confidentiality provisions may face a maximum fine of HK$25,000 and up to six months of imprisonment.
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