Hong Kong News

Nonpartisan, Noncommercial, unconstrained.
Friday, Mar 29, 2024

ESF kindergarten ex-administrator and 10 parents charged with $900,000 bribery over K1 admission

ESF kindergarten ex-administrator and 10 parents charged with $900,000 bribery over K1 admission

A former administrator of an international kindergarten was charged by ICAC for allegedly soliciting and accepting bribes totalling over HK$900,000 from parents for assisting their children’s admission to K1 class of the kindergarten.
A parent rejected the solicitation on the spot while 10 others who had allegedly offered bribes were also charged. The 10 parents charged came from eight families.

The case involved 13 pupils who made K1 admission applications to ESF International Kindergarten (Wu Kai Sha) (WKSK) for the three school years between 2019/20 and 2021/22. The bribe payment in respect of each placement ranged from HK$20,000 to HK$100,000.

The 11 defendants were released on ICAC bail, pending their appearance in the Shatin Magistrates’ Courts on Friday for the case to be transferred to the District Court.

Fatima Rumjahn, 52, former administrator of WKSK employed by ESF Educational Services Limited (ESF), faces a total of 13 charges – eight of conspiracy for an agent to accept an advantage, four of agent accepting an advantage and one of agent soliciting an advantage.

The 10 parents, aged between 34 and 44, are Marissa Choy Wai-yin and her partner Lee Chun-long (the Lees); Cora Lam Man-hei and her husband Cheung Ka-ming (the Cheungs); and six mothers – Tsui Wai-him, Kong Ching-men, Julia Wong Wing-man, Vida Lau Ying-kwan (formerly known as Vida Lau Wai-tak), Ma Yin-man, and Li Jiebing.

Lau jointly faces two of the above conspiracy charges with Rumjahn, while the Lees, the Cheungs and the remaining five mothers each jointly face one conspiracy charge with Rumjahn.

The offences took place between September 2018 and August 2021. Rumjahn was responsible for handling admission applications for K1 classes, which took place annually in September. She accepts eight bribes totalling over HK$650,000 for causing ESF to offer eight K1 placements at WKSK to the children of the eight families.

Another charge alleges that Kong unlawfully incited Rumjahn to solicit a bribe of a certain sum from Choy for offering a K1 placement at WKSK to one family's child.

Four other charges allege that Rumjahn accepted four bribes totalling HK$190,000 from four other mothers for offering four K1 placements at WKSK to their children.

The remaining charge alleges that Rumjahn solicited a bribe of HK$50,000 from another mother for offering a K1 placement to her child. That mother rejected the solicitation on the spot.

The ICAC reminds parents that they should never offer bribes in exchange for school placements for their children. If they are unsure of any requests for fees made by school staff, they should clarify with the school management.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Hong Kong News
0:00
0:00
Close
It's always the people with the dirty hands pointing their fingers
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Joe Biden admitted, in his own words, that he delivered what he promised in exchange for the $10 million bribe he received from the Ukraine Oil Company.
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
Server Arrested For Theft After Refusing To Pay A Table's $100 Restaurant Bill When They Dined & Dashed
The Changing Face of Europe: How Mass Migration is Reshaping the Political Landscape
China Urges EU to Clarify Strategic Partnership Amid Trade Tensions
The Last Pour: Anchor Brewing, America's Pioneer Craft Brewer, Closes After 127 Years
Democracy not: EU's Digital Commissioner Considers Shutting Down Social Media Platforms Amid Social Unrest
Sarah Silverman and Renowned Authors Lodge Copyright Infringement Case Against OpenAI and Meta
Why Do Tech Executives Support Kennedy Jr.?
The New York Times Announces Closure of its Sports Section in Favor of The Athletic
BBC Anchor Huw Edwards Hospitalized Amid Child Sex Abuse Allegations, Family Confirms
Florida Attorney General requests Meta CEO's testimony on company's platforms' alleged facilitation of illicit activities
The Distorted Mirror of actual approval ratings: Examining the True Threat to Democracy Beyond the Persona of Putin
40,000 child slaves in Congo are forced to work in cobalt mines so we can drive electric cars.
×