Mainland student jailed for using fake US papers to get into University of Hong Kong

A mainland Chinese student has been sentenced to 240 days in prison for using fake certificates from a US Ivy League university to get into a top Hong Kong tertiary institution.

The student, who had possessed another forged certificate showing her graduating with distinction from the University of Hong Kong (HKU), was slammed by the magistrate for her consistent dishonesty.

Li Sixuan, 28, on Thursday learned the cost for using a false certificate from Columbia University to apply for the Master of Arts in applied linguistics programme at HKU in 2022.

She earlier pleaded guilty to obtaining services by deception and possessing a false instrument.

HKU flagged her questionable qualification records after uncovering in March last year a number of students using fabricated documents allegedly produced by mainland Chinese education consultancies.

Li admitted that she paid 380,000 yuan (US$52,000) to hire an agent to arrange an online course provided by Columbia University. She received a “graduation” certificate after attending it for a few days.

After HKU reported her to police, officers discovered in Li’s possession a forged HKU certificate printed with the word “distinction”, even though she had only received a “pass” in her final results, according to university records.