OCHO RIOS, St Ann — Literature teacher Kimberly Bailey-Allen is set to appear in the St Ann parish court on January 9, 2026 for trial. She is before the court for allegedly collecting $3.5 million from a Chinese student she was tutoring to sit Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) exams.

Bailey-Allen, a resident of Cambridge in St James, pleaded not guilty to the charge of obtaining money by false pretences during her first court appearance in September.

The court heard then that the 15-year-old female student and Bailey-Allen had arrangements for private tutoring. The teacher knows the accused from a private school she attends in Montego Bay.

The allegations are that Bailey-Allen informed the student that the funds were required as part of the standard procedure to sit CXC exams. The court was told that between April and July this year the student took $3.5 million in cash from her parents, without their knowledge, and gave it to the teacher.

After her parents realised the funds were missing the teenage girl told them she had given it to her teacher as a fee to sit the exam, the court was told.

The court is still gathering evidence to aid in its decision for trial.

— Akera Davis