Police uncover `jockey' ring in Makassar

MAKASSAR: Police have arrested at least 29 people for allegedly taking the state university admission test on another's behalf.

The arrests were made Wednesday and Thursday.

Makassar Police chief Sr. Comr. Burhanuddin Andi said his office was developing the investigation to capture other members of the "jockeying" ring.

The 29 suspects included two civil servants at the Hasanuddin University and two coordinators.

Some of the suspects were students from the Hassanuddin University and the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), he added.

Makassar Police chief Detective Adj. Comr. Tri Heri Maryadi had earlier said the suspects, locally known as jockeys, enrolled for the test but then swapped answer sheets with the real applicants on examination day.

Each applicant paid Rp 5 million (US$500) for the service, he said, adding the suspects faced a maximum sentence of nine months in jail each if found guilty. - JP