A former Hong Kong primary school principal has been remanded in custody pending sentencing for leaking exam questions to a private tutorial centre in which he had a stake and whose director was his mistress.
The District Court on Wednesday convicted Henry Kwok Chiu-kwan, 52, of misconduct in public office for concealing his financial interest in Diligence Learning Centre, which offered tutorial services across from his government-subsidised Tak Sun School in Jordan.
Kwok and his mistress Pang Wing-han, 48, a former director and major shareholder of the tutorial centre, were both convicted of conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office after he was found to have divulged confidential exam and quiz questions before the assessments were held.
In Wednesday’s verdict, Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching said Kwok’s failure to disclose his true relationship with Pang and stake in the tutorial centre must have been wilful and intentional.
“It would be obvious to [Kwok], who was an experienced education professional, that his behaviour was dishonest,” Tse said.
“[Kwok] seriously abused the trust reposed in him by [the school] as the school principal … The misconduct would bring [the school] and the education system into disrepute.”
