City U postgraduate student jailed for bribing professor
2006-12-14
A postgraduate student of the City University of Hong Kong (City U), charged by the ICAC, was today (Thursday) sentenced to six months' imprisonment for offering a $10,000 bribe to an associate professor of City U for obtaining questions and answers of a mathematics examination.
Chen Jing, 25, was ordered by Magistrate Mr Tong Man to have the $10,000 bribe money confiscated.
The defendant, who was charged and brought to Kowloon City Magistracy this afternoon, pleaded guilty to one count of offering an advantage to a public servant, contrary to Section 4(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The magistrate said in view of the seriousness of the bribery offence, an immediate custodial sentence had to be imposed on the defendant.
The fact that the defendant was not familiar with the anti-bribery law in Hong Kong was not an excuse for committing the offence, the magistrate added.
The court heard that in September 2006, the defendant came to Hong Kong from Wuhan City in Hubei province.
She then enrolled in a course offered by the Department of Mathematics of City U.
A final examination of the course was scheduled to take place on December 16, 2006.
On December 6, an associate professor of the department found in his mailbox at City U an envelope containing $10,000 cash.
Later on the same day, the associate professor received an e-mail from an anonymous writer (later known as the defendant), who claimed to be a student of the course and the person who deposited the $10,000 cash into his mailbox.
Five days later, the associate professor received two other e-mails from the defendant, urging him to send her the examination questions and answers.
The associate professor, accompanied by the Head of Department of Mathematics, reported the matter and handed over the $10,000 bribe money to the ICAC.
The court heard that upon the instruction of ICAC officers, the associate professor arranged to meet the defendant yesterday at a cafe to let her view the examination questions and answers.
The defendant agreed to turn up, and requested the associate professor to bring along a blank answer book for her to copy the answers.
At about 12 noon yesterday, the defendant arrived at the cafe and identified herself to the associate professor as the anonymous writer.
The associate professor then handed over to the defendant a set of pre-arranged examination questions and answers, and two blank answer books.
When the defendant was copying the answers onto one of the answer books, she was arrested by ICAC officers, the court was told.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Caroline Yu.
Chen Jing, 25, was ordered by Magistrate Mr Tong Man to have the $10,000 bribe money confiscated.
The defendant, who was charged and brought to Kowloon City Magistracy this afternoon, pleaded guilty to one count of offering an advantage to a public servant, contrary to Section 4(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.
The magistrate said in view of the seriousness of the bribery offence, an immediate custodial sentence had to be imposed on the defendant.
The fact that the defendant was not familiar with the anti-bribery law in Hong Kong was not an excuse for committing the offence, the magistrate added.
The court heard that in September 2006, the defendant came to Hong Kong from Wuhan City in Hubei province.
She then enrolled in a course offered by the Department of Mathematics of City U.
A final examination of the course was scheduled to take place on December 16, 2006.
On December 6, an associate professor of the department found in his mailbox at City U an envelope containing $10,000 cash.
Later on the same day, the associate professor received an e-mail from an anonymous writer (later known as the defendant), who claimed to be a student of the course and the person who deposited the $10,000 cash into his mailbox.
Five days later, the associate professor received two other e-mails from the defendant, urging him to send her the examination questions and answers.
The associate professor, accompanied by the Head of Department of Mathematics, reported the matter and handed over the $10,000 bribe money to the ICAC.
The court heard that upon the instruction of ICAC officers, the associate professor arranged to meet the defendant yesterday at a cafe to let her view the examination questions and answers.
The defendant agreed to turn up, and requested the associate professor to bring along a blank answer book for her to copy the answers.
At about 12 noon yesterday, the defendant arrived at the cafe and identified herself to the associate professor as the anonymous writer.
The associate professor then handed over to the defendant a set of pre-arranged examination questions and answers, and two blank answer books.
When the defendant was copying the answers onto one of the answer books, she was arrested by ICAC officers, the court was told.
The prosecution was today represented by ICAC officer Caroline Yu.