Ex-student from mainland China jailed after using fake credentials to study at Chinese University of Hong Kong
Hong Kong Free Press
A former student from mainland China has been jailed for three months after using forged credentials to enrol in a master’s programme at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).
Bao Junyang appeared at the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday morning, local media outlets reported.
He pleaded guilty to “obtaining services by deception” after prosecutors dropped another charge of “causing to be made a false statement for the purpose of obtaining an entry permit.”
According to details disclosed in court, Bao falsely claimed that he graduated with a bachelor of science degree from New York University when he applied to a master’s programme at the CUHK Business School.
Bao was accepted and enrolled in the programme from 2022 to 2024.
During the mitigation plea, his defence lawyer said that Bao felt remorseful for his foolish actions and asked the judge to give him a community service sentence, not imprisonment.
Although his defence lawyer said that Bao could easily come to Hong Kong to perform the community service, Magistrate Cheang Kei-hong disagreed, saying it would not be feasible.
Cheang sentenced Bao to three months in jail instead.
CUHK announced last October that they identified a student who had used forged documents to secure a spot at the university after reviewing all applications from non-local students during the past five years.
The university also found 10 other applications linked to fake documents. All applications had been rejected, and all of the cases were reported to the police, CUHK said.
Hong Kong has seen multiple cases of students using false documents to enrol in universities over the past few years.
The Business School of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) said last July that they had discovered over 30 students to have used forged degree credentials and other documents to enrol in master’s programmes of the school.
A 24-year-old woman from mainland China was sentenced in October to 17 weeks in prison for using fake documents to enrol in a master’s programme at HKU.
Last December, the Security Bureau said that during the past three years, a total of 25 people had been arrested for using forged credentials to apply to universities in the city.
In Hong Kong, the offence of making or using a false instrument is punishable by up to 14 years in prison and a fine of HK$150,000.
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