The suspected leader of a gang that allegedly hired university students to impersonate test takers for the gaokao is escorted by officers in a train station in Heze City, Shandong Province, on June 8. (Photo : QQ.com)
The suspected leader of a gang that allegedly hired university students to take China’s national college entrance examination, or gaokao, for its “clients” has been detained by police in Jiangxi Province, authorities said on Monday.
The 48-year-old suspect, surnamed Zhao, was arrested on a train to Jinan, Shandong Province, after the test fraud was exposed, according to Jiangxi police.
The police also arrested a 20-year-old suspected member of the gang, surnamed Peng, a student at a well-known university in Wuhan, Hubei Province.
The student was said to have confessed and gave the names of five other substitute examinees.
As of Monday evening, nine suspects have been detained by police, according to the Jiangxi Department of Education.
Earlier on Sunday, Jiangxi police detained two suspects after media reports of criminal gangs hiring university students to take the two-day college entrance exams under the names of other students.
The police said that Zhao ordered an assistant to ask four test takers, including Peng, to head to Nanchang from Wuhan to take the test, and were given fake IDs, admission cards for the exam, and hotel accommodations.
Zhao also allegedly promised to give them considerable rewards if they obtained a high score, which would help his clients earn a place at a top university, according to police.
In a report from the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper, all four test takers were university students from Hubei Province and have taken the test on previous occasions.
According to Jiangxi police, the suspects charged clients up to 50,000 yuan ($8,057) in exchange for admission to an undergraduate school. If the client wanted to enter a famous university, the price was increased to more than 1 million yuan ($161,144)
In response to the arrests, China's education officials vowed to conduct strict ID checks to ensure the integrity of the exam.
In a statement from the Ministry of Education on Monday, investigations on the test fraud will continue and once it is complete, the guilty will be punished and the exam results released in a timely manner.
"We thoroughly investigate illegal behavior during the tests, including organizing others to take the tests for monetary gain," said Xu Mei, a spokesperson from the Ministry of Education.
Held twice every year, the gaokao is regarded as the most important exam for Chinese students, being the prerequisite entrance into almost all higher education institutions at the undergraduate level.
More than nine million students take the test every year, which is seen as a make-or-break opportunity in a country where a degree is essential for a good job, according to the BBC.
