Two former heads of ÖSYM called to testify as suspects in KPSS cheating probe


Two former heads of The Measurement, Selection and Placement Center (ÖSYM), Ünal Yarımağan and Ali Demir were called to testify as suspects as part of a probe that investigated the cheating scandal that allegedly took place in the 2010 Public Personnel Selection Exam (KPSS).
Ankara police department has launched an investigation into claims of cheating and fraud in an examination for civil service positions. Thirty-two out of 82 people allegedly affiliated with the Gülen Movement have been arrested on charges of cheating on the 2010 KPSS exam in Turkey so far.
The prosecutor's office has been investigating the Social Security Institution (SGK) records of 350 people who answered all 120 questions on the exam correctly, and it has been discovered that many of them are affiliated with the Gülen Movement.The suspects reportedly denied the charges against them. Asked how they achieved the perfect score in the exam, most of them said: "We worked hard on our own and succeeded."Meanwhile, four suspects confessed to the crimes. Drawing from their testimonies, police concluded that all of the suspects were in touch with one another through an association in Ankara. The investigation found that the questions of the KPSS exam were brought to this association and distributed.Some of the suspects acquired cellular phone lines using the IDs of senior citizens and used these lines to cheat in the KPSS exam. Those using the lines were later found to be affiliated to the association.It was discovered that four people among the suspects collected money and funds under the name of fraternal contribution toward the Gülen movement, led by U.S.-based preacher Fethullah Gülen.The suspects included a police chief suspected of meddling with computers examined by police and deleting traces of KPSS exam content.Ankara prosecutor's office has issued a two-page written statement, saying that the Gülen movement presented a "great threat" to the Republic of Turkey by working to infiltrate government institutions and illegally obtaining and using public examination content and thereby usurping the rights of millions of people.The statement said that while no candidate received the perfect score -- 120 out of 120 -- or even had 119 correct answers, the 2010 KPSS exam boasted 350 test-takers who responded to all 120 questions correctly. Of them, 70 were spouses, 23 related, and 52 living in the same building, site, or neighborhood.Another statement by the prosecutor's office in Ankara said that there were 3,227 people who scored 100 or more, and 616 of them were currently in office as public servants.