Former worker at Hong Kong’s ESF school group pleads guilty to taking bribes for K1 spots
Fatima Rumjahn pocketed HK$190,000 in exchange for helping secure kindergarten enrolment and planned to accept another HK$530,000
A former kindergarten administrator at Hong Kong’s biggest international school group has pleaded guilty to accepting bribes to help parents secure spots for their children, while also planning to pocket HK$530,000 (US$68,180) for placements.
She admitted to all four counts of accepting an advantage, for bribes totalling HK$190,000, before Deputy District Judge Amy Chan Wai-mun at West Kowloon Court.
Rumjahn accepted payments ranging from HK$20,000 to HK$100,000 from four parents between September 2018 and March 2021, promising to bump their children up the waiting list at the Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten and help secure enrolment.
She also pleaded guilty to five out of eight counts of conspiring to accept an advantage, involving HK$530,000, in exchange for obtaining K1 placements in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years.
She was employed by ESF Educational Services and was responsible for handling the applications at the time, with the kindergarten accepting K1 admissions every September.
Under admission criteria, children of staff, alumni or parents who bought ESF school bonds are given priority admission.
