In a press release regarding the incident, Cagliari police said that “studying to take an exam is tiring, but if you barely know Italian, it’s really impossible.”
The police added that the two Chinese citizens, aged 44 and 28, attempted to cheat the theory test despite not knowing enough Italian to understand the questions.
It is stated that the two men tried to rig the theory exam with the help of an Italian IT technician. The plan involved the use of a hidden camera attached to the clothing of the two men, which was also hooked up to a small modem and earpiece. This, in theory, would allow a third party to see the test and provide the answer and/or a translation. The police report says that this third party was sitting in a car nearby the testing centre and was there to provide answers.
Incredibly, despite seemingly being given the answers from a third party, one of the two men still managed to fail.
The police did not state what theory test the Chinese men were trying to pass. Neither is it isn’t known if the men were being lined up for driving jobs.
The news comes amid a highly-publicised lorry driver shortage across Europe that has seen many hauliers on the continent turn to drivers from outside the EU to fill vacancies.
Besides difficulties obtaining visas and other relocation challenges, one issue faced by employers has been the need for drivers to pass driving tests in the language of the employer’s country.
While some countries, such as Latvia, now allow interpreters to be used, others, such as Germany, do not. One could argue that this situation can encourage the kind of illegal activity seen in the incident recorded by Cagliari’s police department.