Court jails 14 over bribery to secure priority ESF admissions

Thirteen parents and a businessman have been sentenced to eight to 14 months in jail for conspiring to bribe a former English Schools Foundation (ESF) kindergarten administrator with a total of HK$1.1 million to secure priority admission for their children to K1 classes.

Deputy District Judge Amy Chan Wai-mun noted that while she sympathized with parents hoping their children could “get a head start”, such ambitions must not override the law. 

She added that queue-jumping through bribery undermines applicants who follow the proper procedures given Hong Kong’s limited school places. Sentences must carry a deterrent effect to uphold public integrity. 

While recognizing the heavy burden that imprisonment would place on the defendants' families—including challenges in caring for young children, elderly relatives, and ensuing financial strain—the judge asserted that the offenders should have foreseen these consequences before breaking the law. 

After balancing all circumstances, she granted only limited leniency in the sentences. 

The defense's plea for suspended sentences was firmly rejected, with Chan noting that corruption is a grave offense that necessitates immediate custody.

The 14 defendants, including parents from 11 families and a businessman linked to one of the parents, were found guilty earlier in February on 13 charges, comprising 12 counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and one count of inciting an agent to solicit an advantage.

The court heard that bribes ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$200,000 were paid to the former administrator, Fatima Rumjahn, 56, who was then in charge of admissions at ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha), between 2018 and 2021, in exchange for securing kindergarten placements for 12 children, including those from 11 families and the daughter of the businessman’s business partner.

Despite the children being placed low on the official waiting list after interviews, they were given priority entry following the illegal payments. 

Rumjahn had previously pleaded guilty to nine charges, including five counts of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage and four counts of accepting an advantage as an agent. She has testified as a tainted witness in the case.