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TOEIC fraud: Chinese student in Japan charged with cheating on English exams multiple times

Police accuse Wang Likun, 27, of posing as other students and using miniature microphones and smart glasses to feed answers to test-takers

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Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. The suspect reportedly told police that he was approached online to take exams for others. Photo: Handout
A Chinese student at one of Japan’s top universities has been charged for the third time with helping others cheat in English proficiency tests, a case that observers say may be part of a broader and more sophisticated cheating network involving overseas university admissions.

Wang Likun, a 27-year-old studying artificial intelligence at Kyoto University, was first arrested in May when he attempted to enter a TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) venue while impersonating another candidate.

Police reportedly found a miniature microphone hidden in his face mask and smart glasses connected to a mobile phone, which they suspect he intended to use to feed answers to test-takers equipped with wireless earpieces.

Wang was arrested again on Monday on suspicion of using forged identification to pose as another person at a different exam venue. Police had already linked him to a TOEIC test taken under a pseudonym in March, where he scored 945 out of a possible 990 points, according to the Mainichi newspaper.

The Institute for International Business Communication, which administers the TOEIC exam in Japan, had earlier reported a suspicious surge in high scores among Chinese test-takers and received complaints of some candidates “murmuring in Chinese” during the exam.

After being arrested, Wang reportedly told police that he had been looking for a part-time job and received an online message in Chinese saying he would be paid for taking exams for other people and also for communicating with other test-takers at the same time.

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