Mainland man jailed eight months for 600 yuan bribery to pass driving test

A 47-year-old man was sentenced to eight months in prison at Tuen Mun Magistrates’ Courts on Friday after pleading guilty to bribing a Transport Department driving examiner with 600 yuan to secure a pass on his commercial vehicle test.

Zhan Sizhou admitted to one count of offering an advantage to a public servant under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance.

Magistrate David Chum Yau-fong emphasized that integrity is a core value in Hong Kong society and that attempting to bribe public officers is unacceptable. 

He described the defendant’s action—offering cash after making a serious mistake during the test—as intolerable and said a deterrent sentence was necessary.

The court set a starting point of 12 months’ imprisonment and reduced it by one-third to eight months due to the guilty plea.

The ICAC stressed that a clean civil service remains fundamental to Hong Kong’s success. It commended civil servants for upholding integrity and warned the public that bribing officials is a serious crime, promising firm action against corruption.

The court heard that Zhan had paid HK$60,000 to an intermediary to arrange his commercial vehicle test application. He faced an additional HK$8,000 payment if he failed and needed a retest.

On February 3, at the Hong Kong School of Motoring (Yuen Long) Driving Test Centre, Zhan believed he had failed after a major error. He then offered 600 yuan in cash to the Driving Examiner I to pass.

The examiner rejected the bribe and reported the matter to the Transport Department immediately after the test. ICAC officers arrested Zhan at the center that same afternoon following the referral.

The Transport Department fully assisted the ICAC investigation. ICAC officer Hayden Lau prosecuted the case.