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

Homemaker Marissa Choy was among the parents who stood trial for bribing a former ESF employee.

Photo: Brian Wong A Hong Kong court has sentenced 13 parents and a merchant 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 guilty parents 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 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 defendant’s 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.

Chan accepted that some of the defendants did not proactively offer the bribes to Rumjahn, agreeing with the defence’s contention that the former administrator was the main culprit and greedy for money.

After considering various mitigation factors, she decided to reduce the sentences of the 11 defendants who had taken a passive role, jailing them for eight to nine months.

The school administrator earlier pleaded guilty, admitting to her dishonest actions and abuse of power.

She later served as a witness against the defendants as part of a plea bargain with the prosecution.

She also admitted to tampering with the school’s admission system to give certain children priority status.

ESF is the city’s biggest international school group.

Photo: May Tse ESF applications typically get priority status if the children’s parents are members of staff or alumni, or they have siblings who are already students.

It is also granted if the applying family has bought a HK$500,000 bond.

Applicants holding foreign passports have also been considered for priority status in recent years.

But the court heard that children

原文链接: 南华早报