Chinese Student Sentenced to 3 Years with 5-Year Suspended Sentence for Impersonating TOEIC Taker 7 Times in Japan

(CNA, Taipei, June 7) A Chinese exchange student, Wang Likun, who acted as an imposter seven times in the TOEIC test in Tokyo, was sentenced to three years in prison with a five-year suspended sentence by the Tokyo District Court on June 5 for the crime of "forgery of private documents with seals," according to Japanese media reports.

Japan's NHK reported that Wang, 28, is a graduate student at Kyoto University. He was accused of impersonating others to take the TOEIC exam in Tokyo on as many as seven occasions from 2024 to 2025.

According to the report, prosecutors had sought a sentence of four years and six months for Wang, who admitted to the charges in court. In the verdict, the judge pointed out that Wang's repeated impersonation of others seriously undermined the fairness and credibility of the examination. In a suspected planned and organized crime, he played a key role, and his "criminal responsibility cannot be overlooked."

However, the ruling also considered that Wang was highly likely in a "subordinate and dominated" position within the criminal group and should be sentenced based on this premise, thus granting the suspended sentence.

Japanese media previously reported that when Wang acted as an imposter, he hid a small microphone of about 3 to 4 centimeters inside his mask, which became police evidence. Additionally, in the examination hall where Wang took the test, 50 Chinese exchange students had registered using the same address. Among them, 14 obtained the same high score as Wang, with even their wrong answers being identical. (Editors: Chiu Kuo-chiang / Chen Yen-chun) 1150607