Six being quizzed in paper leak case

The Family and Juvenile Prosecution has been quizzing five pupils aged 17 to 19 years and a 22-year-old man to determine whether the portal of the Ministry of Education has been hacked during the last semester exams of Grade 12.

Mohammed Rustom Bu Abdullah, Chief Prosecutor of the Family and Juvenile Prosecution, told Khaleej Times that they have been investigating the alleged leak in the Grade 12 biology question paper (literary section). It is the first case of its kind to be handled by the Family and Juvenile Prosecution since its inception in 2009, according to Bu Abdullah.

“The case started when the Ministry of Education informed the Al Qusais police station about answers of the biology question paper of class 12 circulating via BlackBerry, Twitter and electronic mails,” he said.

Through investigation, it was learnt that the answers were posted on a website (www.study4uae.com) and from there, students circulated the answers later via BlackBerry Messenger, Twitter and emails.

Bu Abdullah said the 22-year-old suspect, an Emirati employee at a public sector department, admitted that his 17-year-old brother got the answers from another student via BlackBerry. The other student said the same about another suspect and so on. The employee admitted he posted the answers on www.study4uae.com. “The main accused in the leaking of the answers has yet to be identified. All suspects denied knowing that the answers were authentic. They claimed that it was a kind of a prank and circulated them (answers) out of curiosity. The eldest among them, the 22-year-old, said he removed the answers from the Internet when he learnt they were correct,” Bu Abdullah said.

The main focus now is to determine whether the website of the Ministry of Education was hacked and whether it was how the answers were leaked and circulated later.

Bu Abdullah stressed that the investigation is still in its early stages and that they would quiz witnesses including police officers and officials in the Ministry of Education.

The juvenile suspects have also been referred to a social assistant who asked them about their living and family conditions. An individual report would be prepared on the conditions of each of the juveniles.

The laptops and BlackBerry devices of the suspects have been seized as part of the ongoing investigation. The suspects have also been asked to deposit their passports as guarantee for their release on bail. The prosecution is expected to widen its investigation in the coming days to include more students and witnesses.

The students, whose involvement will be proven by the time the Juvenile Prosecution concludes its investigation, will stand trial in the Juvenile Court.

mary@khaleejtimes.com