Eight to 14 months’ jail for offering $1.1m in bribes to international kindergarten employee for K1 priority admission
2026-3-31
Thirteen parents and a middleman, charged by the ICAC, were today (March 31) sentenced to jail terms ranging from eight to 14 months at the District Court for offering around $1.1 million in bribes to a then administrator of an international kindergarten to assist in securing a priority admission of 12 children to its K1 classes. Most of the parents concerned paid bribes following solicitations by the kindergarten employee, who admitted to accepting them. Her sentencing is scheduled for next month.
Among the 14 defendants, aged between 35 and 48, are 13 parents of 11 families, namely Lam Man-hei and her husband Cheung Ka-ming; Marissa Choy Wai-yin and her partner Lee Chun-long; nine mothers – Julia Wong Yi-ting (formerly known as Julia Wong Wing-man), Vida Lau Ying-kwan (formerly known as Vida Lau Wai-tak), Ma Yin-man, Li Jiebing, Tsui Wai-him, Kong Ching-men, Michelle Wong Mei-suet, Mak Wai-ki and Zhu Shuangye. They received jail terms ranging from eight to 11 months. The remaining defendant, Siu Yu-pong, is jailed for 14 months. He was a business partner of another parent at the material time.
The 14 defendants were found guilty after trial of a total of 13 charges – 12 counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, and one count of inciting an agent to solicit an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance and the Common Law.
In sentencing, Deputy Judge Ms Amy Chan Wai-mun remarked that it was understandable that the defendants were eager to help their children get off to a flying start due to the high hopes pinned on them. Nevertheless, they ought to abide by the law. Noting that school places were limited, the deputy judge reprimanded the defendants for showing no remorse, adding that their acts had undermined other applicants’ fair opportunity for school admission and eroded the integrity foundation of Hong Kong society. The court had to impose deterrent sentences on the defendants to convey a correct probity message to the general public.
The district judge took a starting point of 12 to 15 months’ imprisonment for each defendant. Having considered various mitigating factors, the jail terms were reduced to eight to 14 months respectively. Siu, who acted as a middleman to secure a school place for his business partner’s child through bribery, received the heaviest punishment in the present case, i.e. 14 months, as he may have made business gains out of it.
An ICAC spokesperson noted that while parents may naturally seek to secure preferred school places for their children out of love, they should lead by example and demonstrate the importance of upholding integrity and abiding by the law. Resorting to bribery in school admissions violates the principle of fairness. If asked to pay bribes, parents should not succumb to corruption and should report the matter to the ICAC immediately.
The ICAC has provided corruption prevention advice tailored to kindergartens’ admission procedures and organised dedicated seminars regularly to further reinforce their capability in upholding integrity. Kindergartens should refer to the Corruption Prevention Toolkit on Kindergartens’ Operations issued by the ICAC to strengthen their corruption prevention safeguards and enhance the transparency of their student admission processes.
Co-defendant Fatima Rumjahn, 56, then administrator of ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha) (WKSK), pleaded guilty in October 2024 to nine charges – five counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and four counts of agent accepting an advantage. Her case was adjourned to April 16 for mitigation and April 20 for sentencing.
The above offences were uncovered in an ICAC investigation stemmed from a corruption complaint. The present case involved K1 admission applications for the three school years between 2019 and 2022 of WKSK, which accepted admission applications in each September. Between September 2018 and August 2021, Rumjahn was responsible for handling the relevant applications.
The court heard that the 13 parents and a businessman, Siu, offered bribes totalling about $1.1 million, with amounts ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 each, to Rumjahn for securing K1 places at WKSK to 12 children – children of the 11 families and a daughter of Siu’s business partner.
The court also heard that after one of the parents, Kong, obtained a placement for her child by corrupt means, she contacted Rumjahn and incited the latter to accept a bribe from her friend, Choy, to assist Choy’s child in obtaining a K1 placement.
The ICAC investigation revealed that the 12 children had passed the K1 admission interviews and were originally placed at the bottom of the admission waiting list. However, they were given priority in the admission process and enrolled in the programme after the defendants paid bribes.
ESF Educational Services Limited rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Wong Hay-yiu and Warren Suen, assisted by ICAC officer Zacky Chan.
Among the 14 defendants, aged between 35 and 48, are 13 parents of 11 families, namely Lam Man-hei and her husband Cheung Ka-ming; Marissa Choy Wai-yin and her partner Lee Chun-long; nine mothers – Julia Wong Yi-ting (formerly known as Julia Wong Wing-man), Vida Lau Ying-kwan (formerly known as Vida Lau Wai-tak), Ma Yin-man, Li Jiebing, Tsui Wai-him, Kong Ching-men, Michelle Wong Mei-suet, Mak Wai-ki and Zhu Shuangye. They received jail terms ranging from eight to 11 months. The remaining defendant, Siu Yu-pong, is jailed for 14 months. He was a business partner of another parent at the material time.
The 14 defendants were found guilty after trial of a total of 13 charges – 12 counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, and one count of inciting an agent to solicit an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance and the Common Law.
In sentencing, Deputy Judge Ms Amy Chan Wai-mun remarked that it was understandable that the defendants were eager to help their children get off to a flying start due to the high hopes pinned on them. Nevertheless, they ought to abide by the law. Noting that school places were limited, the deputy judge reprimanded the defendants for showing no remorse, adding that their acts had undermined other applicants’ fair opportunity for school admission and eroded the integrity foundation of Hong Kong society. The court had to impose deterrent sentences on the defendants to convey a correct probity message to the general public.
The district judge took a starting point of 12 to 15 months’ imprisonment for each defendant. Having considered various mitigating factors, the jail terms were reduced to eight to 14 months respectively. Siu, who acted as a middleman to secure a school place for his business partner’s child through bribery, received the heaviest punishment in the present case, i.e. 14 months, as he may have made business gains out of it.
An ICAC spokesperson noted that while parents may naturally seek to secure preferred school places for their children out of love, they should lead by example and demonstrate the importance of upholding integrity and abiding by the law. Resorting to bribery in school admissions violates the principle of fairness. If asked to pay bribes, parents should not succumb to corruption and should report the matter to the ICAC immediately.
The ICAC has provided corruption prevention advice tailored to kindergartens’ admission procedures and organised dedicated seminars regularly to further reinforce their capability in upholding integrity. Kindergartens should refer to the Corruption Prevention Toolkit on Kindergartens’ Operations issued by the ICAC to strengthen their corruption prevention safeguards and enhance the transparency of their student admission processes.
Co-defendant Fatima Rumjahn, 56, then administrator of ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha) (WKSK), pleaded guilty in October 2024 to nine charges – five counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and four counts of agent accepting an advantage. Her case was adjourned to April 16 for mitigation and April 20 for sentencing.
The above offences were uncovered in an ICAC investigation stemmed from a corruption complaint. The present case involved K1 admission applications for the three school years between 2019 and 2022 of WKSK, which accepted admission applications in each September. Between September 2018 and August 2021, Rumjahn was responsible for handling the relevant applications.
The court heard that the 13 parents and a businessman, Siu, offered bribes totalling about $1.1 million, with amounts ranging from $20,000 to $200,000 each, to Rumjahn for securing K1 places at WKSK to 12 children – children of the 11 families and a daughter of Siu’s business partner.
The court also heard that after one of the parents, Kong, obtained a placement for her child by corrupt means, she contacted Rumjahn and incited the latter to accept a bribe from her friend, Choy, to assist Choy’s child in obtaining a K1 placement.
The ICAC investigation revealed that the 12 children had passed the K1 admission interviews and were originally placed at the bottom of the admission waiting list. However, they were given priority in the admission process and enrolled in the programme after the defendants paid bribes.
ESF Educational Services Limited rendered full assistance to the ICAC during its investigation into the case.
The prosecution was today represented by prosecuting counsel Wong Hay-yiu and Warren Suen, assisted by ICAC officer Zacky Chan.