Three defendants convicted in a bribery case involving priority admission to an English Schools Foundation (ESF) international kindergarten were granted bail pending appeal on Thursday.
The case stemmed from a former administrator at ESF International Kindergarten in Wu Kai Sha, who admitted accepting HK$640,000 in bribes to secure priority admission for children and was sentenced to 25 months in prison.
Thirteen parents and a middleman previously found guilty of offering bribes have filed appeals against their sentences, which range from eight to 14 months’ imprisonment.
Among them, parents Zhu Shangye and Siu Yu-pon, along with businessman Ma Yin-man, appeared before the High Court on Thursday morning.
After considering all submissions, High Court judge Keith Yeung Kar-hung approved their bail applications, finding there were reasonable grounds for appeal.
Yeung said that without bail, Ma and Zhu — who are scheduled for release on August 26, 2026 — and Siu, whose sentence is due to end on December 9, 2026, would likely have completed their jail terms before their appeals are heard.
The court granted bail of HK$100,000 each to Ma and Siu, and HK$45,000 to Zhu. All three were ordered to remain in Hong Kong, surrender their travel documents, report to police once a week, reside at their reported addresses, and attend all court hearings.
In an earlier hearing in March, Deputy Judge Amy Chan Wai-mun said Siu bore the highest culpability among the defendants and imposed the longest sentence of 14 months.
The 13 parent defendants — including 11 mothers and two fathers from 11 families aged between 35 and 48 — were each sentenced to between eight and 11 months in prison.
𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓
