The defendant Ba Yuheng had earlier pleaded guilty to offering an advantage to a public servant, in violation of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance; and appeared before magistrate Tsang Hing-tung at the West Kowloon Court today for sentencing.

In sentencing, Tsang reprimanded Ba for defying the law blatantly and said it was evident that Ba did not commit the offense spontaneously as he conveniently took out a red packet prepared in advance.

Tsang added that the corruption offense committed by Ba was serious in nature as it struck at the heart of Hong Kong’s interests and values and tarnished the city's clean social environment.

Tsang stressed that the court had to mete out a deterrent punishment to convey a proper signal to the public.

The magistrate then started Ba’s jail term at nine months and reduced it by one-third to six months over his guilty plea.

The court earlier heard that Ba attended his commercial vehicle driving test for medium goods vehicle at Tsuen Wan Driving Test Centre on November 29 last year and made a serious mistake, causing Ba's vehicle to hit the curb of the road during the test.

Ba was immediately told that he had failed the test, and Ba then offered a red packet containing HK$500 cash to the examiner in a bid to secure a pass.

The examiner reported the incident to the Transport Department after the test, and Ba was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) upon receiving a corruption complaint the same day.

ICAC then initiated prosecution against Ba after seeking legal advice from the Department of Justice.

ICAC thanked the Transport Department for its full assistance during the investigation and reminded the public that bribery is a serious offense, and they should never offer bribes to civil servants in exchange for their assistance or favor.