SINGAPORE - Three people were hauled to court on Friday to face charges of perverting or obstructing the course of justice in relation to an exam fraud case.

Chinese national Feng Riwen, 24, and Singaporean Fiona Poh Min, 29, allegedly instigated one Chen Yi to leave Singapore on Monday so that he would not be investigated by police over an English O Level test in which he allegedly received help.

Both tutors allegedly committed the offence with Tan Jia Yan and Poh Yuan Nie alias Pony Poh.

Feng and Fiona Poh face a second charge of abetment of cheating by conspiring with Chen, Tan, Pony Poh and others unknown to cheat the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board (SEAB).

Court documents say the SEAB was deceived into believing that Chen, a private candidate, was taking the GCE O Level English Paper 1 without help from any other person.

The accused pair are said to have dishonestly concealed the fact that Chen would be receiving help from the conspirators.

Chen sat for the paper comprising three sections - editing, situational writing and continuous writing - at about 1.30pm on Monday at Tampines Secondary School with help from the alleged conspirators.

The third person, tuition centre owner Wong Mee Keow, 38, faces one charge of obstructing the course of justice by deleting photographs of Pony Poh from her mobile phone to prevent the police from identifying her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Nicholas Khoo told the court that investigations were incomplete and time was needed to trace other people.

The trio were remanded one week for investigation. The case will come up for mention on Nov 4.

A spokesman for the SEAB said on Friday night that it is aware of the incident and had filed a police report. He added: "As the case is currently undergoing police investigations, SEAB is unable to comment further."