• Xie Xin withdrew from his computer engineering course in university in 2016
• He was later reinstated but the National University of Singapore dismissed him the next year
• He then used a fake certificate to successfully apply for a job at an international school
• Investigations revealed that he could have been hired for a lower pay if he merely submitted his A-Level certificate

SINGAPORE — A computer engineering student, who was dismissed from the National University of Singapore (NUS), later used a photo editing software to forge a degree certificate and secure himself a job as a part-time teacher.   

On Friday (Dec 11), Xie Xin, a Singapore permanent resident from China, was fined S$4,000. He has to serve four weeks’ jail if he does not pay the fine. 

The 30-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of fraudulently using a forged document as a genuine one. He could have been jailed up to four years or fined, or both.

The court heard that Xie first withdrew from his university course in 2016, before completing the degree requirements.

He then forged a computer engineering degree certificate but did not use it.

In 2017, he successfully appealed to be reinstated as an NUS student but was academically dismissed later that year for failing to meet examination regulations.

In November 2018, he applied for a part-time teaching position at Ascencia International School through an introduction from another teacher there. 

When he was interviewed for the job, he submitted the forged certificate to an academic supervisor. 

After his offence came to light, investigations revealed that his employer may have still hired him — albeit at a lower salary — if he submitted his A-Level certificate. 

CLAIMED IT WAS PHOTO OF ORIGINAL CERTIFICATE

Xie signed a contract to work at Ascensia from Nov 15, 2018 to Dec 31, 2019.

In February 2019, a human resources manager from Ascencia asked Xie to sign a “lecturer declaration form and verification of certificate authenticity”.

Xie hesitated to do so, asking if he could use his A-Level certificate instead of the one from NUS.

A few days later, he declared in a personal statement that he had not completed his final-year project in the university. 

He alleged that he was given another year by the university to complete it but that he and his family felt it was not the right time to continue, so he began working first.

He claimed that he was also given five years to be reinstated in the university and would finish his studies when he was ready.

The human resources manager then did a check with NUS, which replied that Xie was not in its graduate records.

Xie was interviewed by the police after the manager made a police report. 

He first claimed that the forged certificate was a photograph of his original certificate that an NUS staff member had shown him. He admitted to forging it only in a second police statement in March last year.

He had been dismissed from Ascensia two weeks earlier.

FIRST FORGED CERTIFICATE TO DECEIVE PARENTS

Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Jonathan Tan sought the fine imposed. 

He argued that Xie had taken efforts to avoid detection by refusing to sign the declaration form and also made a false statement by effectively saying that he could be reinstated as an NUS student whenever he wanted to.

The prosecutor also said that Xie caused “real prejudice” to Ascensia because he received a higher salary than he deserved.

However, since Xie could have been hired based on his A-Level certificate, DPP Tan said that the custodial threshold was not crossed.

In mitigation, defence counsel CK Teo said that Xie forged the NUS certificate in 2016 merely to deceive his own parents.

The lawyer added that his client was not aware of the different tiers of remuneration for A-Level and university graduates, but conceded that it was reasonable for anyone to expect that.

District Judge Edgar Foo agreed with the prosecution that from Ascensia’s perspective, it could have taken the forged certificate into account and offered him a higher starting pay. However, the judge accepted that any harm caused was on the low end and there were no aggravating factors.