A complaint was lodged with police, in the Klong Luang district of Pathum Thani province yesterday (Sunday), concerning suspected cheating in a university entrance examination, after images of two GAT/PAT test papers were posted on the “Snapask” app.
Thammasat University’s Assoc. Prof. Chalie Charoenlarpnopparut, in his capacity as the manager of the Thai University Central Admission System (TCAS65), told Thai PBS that it is suspected that the cheater, used a pen type spy camera or a spy camera glasses to take snap shots of the mathematics and science exam papers and then wirelessly transmitted them to the Snapask app.
Snapask is an app, open to anyone, who has questions about their homework. Someone will then answer the questions for free or in exchange for some rewards.
The professor said that it was unlikely that the cheater used a smart phone, because it would have been too obvious adding, however that, since the cheating was committed by an individual and it was not a leak of exam papers before the exam took place, no new examinations will be held for the two subjects in question.
He said that he expects the police to be able to identify the perpetrator within a few days and it might take longer to locate anyone who answered the questions using the cribbed papers, if there are any.
The professor said that cheating in exams is not a criminal offence in Thailand, but it is against the exam regulations.
Officials supervising the entrance examination have been instructed to increase the screening of students attending the exam, to find inappropriate devices.
