A 31-year-old mainland woman pleaded guilty on Monday to obtaining services by deception after using a forged academic recommendation letter to secure admission to a doctoral program at the Education University of Hong Kong (EdUHK)
Appearing at Fanling Magistrates' Courts, Li Zuer admitted to falsely claiming that a former associate professor had recommended her, dishonestly obtaining educational and teaching services for the university's Doctor of Education program.
Magistrate Kenneth Chan Ping-chau adjourned sentencing to September 14 pending a community service order report, allowing Li to remain on bail.
The court heard that Li graduated with a master's degree from EdUHK in 2019 and had applied unsuccessfully for the university's doctoral program every year since 2021.
In another attempt to secure admission, she submitted an online application accompanied by a recommendation letter dated March 5, 2024, purportedly written by former faculty member Ho Wai-yip.
Relying on the submitted documents, the university accepted Li into the Doctor of Education program, and she commenced her studies in September last year.
The deception came to light after EdUHK staff checked internal records and discovered that Ho had departed his post as an associate professor in July 2021.
When contacted by university staff, Ho confirmed that he had never written or issued the recommendation letter Li submitted.
Following her arrest, Li revealed during a video-recorded interview under caution that she had known Ho while studying for her master's degree.
She claimed she had approached him in 2022 for a reference and was told she could reuse a letter he had written for her in 2021.
Li admitted to using the 2021 letter as a base to forge the new recommendation letter and to faking Ho's signature.
