Another official sacked over exam scandal

By Yang Lifei  |   2008-6-30  |     ONLINE EDITION

A SECOND Shandong Province government official was sacked for his alleged role in an exam scandal in which students were organized to take the test for others in Tianshui, Gansu Province, the Oriental Morning Post reported.

Yan Zhaoqi, director of Shandong's Yanggu Forestry Bureau, was relieved of his post. It followed the sacking of vice bureau director Huo Jigang, the report said.

The cause for Yan's dismissal remained unclear, however, an earlier report by the newspaper said a student who allegedly had another person take the National College Entrance Examination in his place was named Yan Tao, the same name and age as Yan Zhaoqi's son.

Meanwhile, three government officials in Tianshui were punished for their failure to take responsibility for the scandal. Vice Director of Maiji District Wang Xiaoqin and Vice Director of Qinzhou District Jiang Xiaoli were given disciplinary warnings. Tian Bin, vice director of the Tianshui Public Security Bureau, was given a disciplinary demerit record, the report said.

Police are still looking for Huo, who allegedly asked his wife Zhang Yuru and a Shandong middle school teacher Wei Chengjia to organize 27 students from Shandong to take the National College Entrance Examination for others in Tianshui.

Zhang and Wei were caught by Gansu police on June 7. It was not until June 17 that a special task force looked into the case and discovered that Huo had been missing since the examination started on June 7, according to the report.

During the 10-day period, Yan did not submit a report to his superiors, the report said.

According to another report by Xinhuanet.com, Zhang Hongju, a teacher at a Tianshui vocational school, was arrested on Friday for taking bribes and dereliction of duty.