Chinese anger at student ID theft

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There has been outrage in China over reports that a police official helped his daughter get into university by stealing another student's identity.

The official, Wang Zhengrong, stole the name and ID number of his daughter's classmate, state media reports.

The classmate had scored much higher grades in China's national college entrance exam.

While Mr Wang's child took her university place, the other girl had to spend a year re-taking the exam.

The classmate, Luo Caixia, eventually gained a place at another university.

Miss Luo only learned what had happened when she tried to open a bank account and was told there were problems with her personal information.

'Legal measures'

Miss Luo is seeking legal measures to solve the problem.

She says she can not get the graduation and teaching certificates she had been working towards, because they have already been issued to someone else using her name.

The story was reported in the official China Youth Daily and prompted soul-searching commentaries in the media and angry online debate.

The national college entrance exams are a defining point in young people's lives in China.

They determine who will go to university and where - and as such they can be key to social mobility for students from poorer backgrounds.

Stories of cheating surface every year but its less common for a case of outright identity theft to come to light.