Guard admits to offering mooncake voucher as bribe to driving examiner

A 53-year-old female security guard, Li Zhengchun, pleaded guilty at the Shatin Magistrates' Courts yesterday for attempting to bribe a driving examiner from the Transport Department with a HK$404 mooncake voucher during her driving test.

Li Zhengchun admitted to one count of offering an advantage to a public servant before acting principal magistrate Amy Chan Wai-mun. The incident took place on September 14 last year at the Hong Kong School of Motoring in Sha Tin, during Li's private car driving test.

During the test, Li made a mistake by parking her vehicle partially outside the designated parking space. The examiner informed her of the error.

Li later took out a red envelope and placed it in the central storage space of the vehicle during the slope driving and parking test. She then offered the mooncake voucher to the examiner, saying: "Officer, please have some mooncakes."

However, the examiner refused to accept the bribe. Undeterred, Li again took out the envelope and placed it under the right thigh of the examiner during the road test, repeating her offer.

The examiner opened the envelope and discovered the voucher. The examiner rejected the bribe once again.

Unfortunately for Li, she committed another mistake during the road test by getting too close to a stationary vehicle, and ultimately failed the test.

The examiner made a corruption remark on the test records and reported the case to the Independent Commission Against Corruption and the Transport Department. On the same day, Li was arrested by the ICAC at the driving test center.

Li said it was her first time taking the driving test since immigrating to Hong Kong from the mainland in 2008. She admitted to bringing the mooncake voucher for the test.

marcus.lum@singtaonewscorp.com