Student barred after forging death, medical certificates

Eunice Lam

A Chinese University undergraduate student has been suspended for a year for fabricating certificates - including a death certificate - to dodge examinations and continue to receive scholarships.

The incident came into light after a CUHK notice went viral on social media platform Threads on February 8.

The case and penalty have been announced anonymously as a warning to others, according to CUHK's senate committee on student discipline.

In the notice, dated September last year, the committee said an undergraduate student fabricated a death certificate.

It did not explain why the death certificate was needed to fulfill the university's scholarship renewal criteria.

It said the student also forged medical certificates to apply for absences from exams.

"After detailed consideration by the committee's adjudication panel, the nature of the [student's] infraction was considered very serious," the committee said in the notice.

The student was penalized for a total of five demerits and was temporarily suspended for the first and second semesters of the 2024-25 academic year, with a letter of reflection to be submitted to the dean of the student's college.

In case the student has met all graduation requirements, no graduation assessment will be conducted until the second semester of the 2024-25 school year, the committee added.

According to CUHK's undergraduate student handbook, a total of three demerits "may result in the termination of studies at the university."

Online users questioned whether the penalty was too lenient and asked why the student was not expelled from CUHK and whether it reported the case to police.

A commenter asked: "It's forgery and [fraud] - how come the university did not terminate the student's studies?"

In response to media inquiries, CUHK merely said that disciplinary actions, including the termination of studies, will be taken if it is proven that a student has falsified or altered documents or records.

The university will not comment or provide additional information about the incident to protect the privacy of the parties involved, it added.

eunice.lam@singtaonewscorp.com

Editorial: Page 4