14 convicted of bribing ESF worker to obtain places at Hong Kong kindergarten
Defendants face prison sentences for offering English Schools Foundation employee up to HK$200,000 in exchange for kindergarten admission
A Hong Kong court has convicted 13 parents and a merchant who offered HK$20,000 to HK$200,000 (US$2,600 to US$25,600) to bribe a kindergarten administrator at the city’s biggest international school group in exchange for enrolments.
Deputy District Judge Amy Chan Wai-mun said on Tuesday that a custodial sentence would be the only suitable punishment for the 14 defendants found guilty of bribing Fatima Rumjahn, a former employee at the English Schools Foundation (ESF), to obtain K1 placements for their children.
Rumjahn, who handled admission applications at Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten from 2018 to 2021, had earlier pleaded guilty, admitting to her dishonest actions and abuse of power. She served as a witness against the defendants as part of a plea bargain with the prosecution.
She testified during the District Court trial that she accepted payments ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$100,000 between September 2018 and March 2021 from parents whose children were either on the waiting list or who were not slated for interviews because of late applications.
Evidence, including messages between some of the defendants and Rumjahn, showed that the administrator promised to move their children up the waiting list, even though they did not enjoy priority status.
The ESF gives priority to applicants who are the children of its teaching staff, whose siblings are current students, whose parents are alumni, or whose parents buy HK$500,000 bonds.