13 parents, middleman get up to 14 months in jail for bribing ESF employee

A Hong Kong court has sentenced 13 parents and a middleman to up to 14 months in jail for offering bribes ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$200,000 (US$2,600 to US$25,600) to a kindergarten administrator at the city’s biggest international school group in exchange for enrolments.

In earlier mitigation, some of the defendants pinned the blame on Fatima Rumjahn, accusing the former English Schools Foundation (ESF) employee of “taking advantage of the parents’ eagerness to get their children into school” and “luring them” into bribing her.

The District Court heard that Rumjahn, who handled admission applications at ESF Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten from 2018 to 2021, had made promises of priority status to parents whose children were on the waiting list or were not slated for interviews because of late applications.

At sentencing on Tuesday, Deputy District Judge Amy Chan Wai-mun said she could understand the defendants’ motives, as parents would want the best for their children.

“It is understandable to have high expectations for their children. But the premise is that [parents] have to obey the law,” she said.

She stressed that bribery was a serious offence and slammed the defendants for “depriving others of a fair chance” to attend the school.