Arrest warrant for ex-principal of tuition center who helped students cheat in O-level exams. | Rare Techy

SINGAPORE: An arrest warrant has been issued against the former principal of a tuition center who helped students cheat in O-level exams.

The warrant was issued on Wednesday (Nov 23) after Po Yuan Nie, 56, failed to appear in court to begin a jail sentence for 27 counts of fraud.

Poe was sentenced to four years in prison in 2020 after a lengthy trial, but her appeal was rejected just this week.

Poe’s lawyer, Mr. Peter Keith Fernando, was discharged on the same day that the warrant was issued against Poe.

Poh was involved in the fraud case along with two co-defendants: Fiona Po Min, who was jailed for three years, and Feng Riwen, who was sentenced to two years and four months.

All three worked at the now defunct Zeus Education Center. They carried out a scheme for three exam papers in October 2016, strapping devices to the bodies of six students and carefully hiding them under layers of clothing.

A few hours before each exam, Fiona and Feng taped the devices onto the students. During the exam, co-defendant Tan Jia Yan, who sat as a private candidate, used FaceTime on her phone to live stream the question papers to the tuition centre.

Fiona and Feng will then work on the questions and call on students to read their answers.

The ruse was uncovered when an invigilator heard unusual electronic transmission sounds and noises from one of the students.

Poh was branded the mastermind of the entire scheme by the prosecution.

As the principal, she decided how the operation would be conducted and supervised the entire process on the exam day.

Of the four, he was the only one who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison in 2019.

A review of Poe’s arrest warrant is set for Jan. 18.