Then administrator of international kindergarten gets 25 months’ jail for bribery over priority admission
2026-4-20
A then administrator of an international kindergarten was today (April 20) sentenced to 25 months’ imprisonment at the District Court following her guilty plea to accepting bribes totalling $640,000 from several parents. She was among 15 people charged by the ICAC with corruption involving bribes exceeding $1 million to secure priority admission for children into its K1 classes. The 13 parents and a middleman involved were previously convicted of bribery and jailed.
Fatima Rumjahn, 56, then administrator of ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha) (WKSK), earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of agent accepting an advantage and five counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
In sentencing today, Deputy Judge Ms Amy Chan Wai-mun reprimanded Rumjahn, who was the mastermind and most culpable person in the case, for exploiting parents’ yearning for quality education for their children by continuously and premeditatedly committing offences. Her acts not only breached trust, but also undermined the kindergarten’s reputation and fairness on campus, while eroding society’s foundation of integrity. The court deemed it necessary to impose a deterrent sentence on the defendant.
The deputy judge noted that Rumjahn faced a potential sentence of 50 months’ imprisonment. However, considering her guilty plea and her assistance to the prosecution in testifying against other defendants, which led to convictions, her jail term was reduced by half to 25 months.
The deputy judge also ordered Rumjahn to pay a restitution of $640,000, representing the bribe money involved, to her then employer, ESF Educational Services Limited, within three years.
The 14 co-defendants, comprising 13 parents and a middleman, were earlier found guilty after trial of 12 counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, and one count of inciting an agent to solicit an advantage. They were sentenced to jail terms ranging from eight to 14 months at the District Court last month.
The offences were uncovered during an ICAC investigation stemming from a corruption complaint. The case involved K1 admission applications for the three school years between 2019 and 2022 at WKSK, which accepted admission applications each September. Between September 2018 and August 2021, Rumjahn was responsible for handling the relevant applications.
The court heard that various children had passed the K1 admission interviews but were placed by WKSK at the bottom of its admission waiting list. When handling enquiries from parents, Rumjahn told them she could assist their children in securing a K1 place on the condition that they paid her bribes.
Rumjahn admitted that she accepted bribes ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 from nine of the parents, totalling $640,000, to secure K1 places at WKSK for their children. The ICAC investigation revealed that the children were given priority in the admission process and enrolled in the programme after Rumjahn received bribes from their parents.
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, assisted by ICAC officer Zacky Chan.
The ICAC has provided corruption prevention advice tailored to kindergartens’ admission procedures and regularly organised dedicated seminars to further reinforce their capability in upholding integrity. Kindergartens are advised to 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.
Fatima Rumjahn, 56, then administrator of ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha) (WKSK), earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of agent accepting an advantage and five counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, contrary to section 9(1)(a) of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance and section 159A of the Crimes Ordinance.
In sentencing today, Deputy Judge Ms Amy Chan Wai-mun reprimanded Rumjahn, who was the mastermind and most culpable person in the case, for exploiting parents’ yearning for quality education for their children by continuously and premeditatedly committing offences. Her acts not only breached trust, but also undermined the kindergarten’s reputation and fairness on campus, while eroding society’s foundation of integrity. The court deemed it necessary to impose a deterrent sentence on the defendant.
The deputy judge noted that Rumjahn faced a potential sentence of 50 months’ imprisonment. However, considering her guilty plea and her assistance to the prosecution in testifying against other defendants, which led to convictions, her jail term was reduced by half to 25 months.
The deputy judge also ordered Rumjahn to pay a restitution of $640,000, representing the bribe money involved, to her then employer, ESF Educational Services Limited, within three years.
The 14 co-defendants, comprising 13 parents and a middleman, were earlier found guilty after trial of 12 counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, and one count of inciting an agent to solicit an advantage. They were sentenced to jail terms ranging from eight to 14 months at the District Court last month.
The offences were uncovered during an ICAC investigation stemming from a corruption complaint. The case involved K1 admission applications for the three school years between 2019 and 2022 at WKSK, which accepted admission applications each September. Between September 2018 and August 2021, Rumjahn was responsible for handling the relevant applications.
The court heard that various children had passed the K1 admission interviews but were placed by WKSK at the bottom of its admission waiting list. When handling enquiries from parents, Rumjahn told them she could assist their children in securing a K1 place on the condition that they paid her bribes.
Rumjahn admitted that she accepted bribes ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 from nine of the parents, totalling $640,000, to secure K1 places at WKSK for their children. The ICAC investigation revealed that the children were given priority in the admission process and enrolled in the programme after Rumjahn received bribes from their parents.
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, assisted by ICAC officer Zacky Chan.
The ICAC has provided corruption prevention advice tailored to kindergartens’ admission procedures and regularly organised dedicated seminars to further reinforce their capability in upholding integrity. Kindergartens are advised to 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.