Mother remanded in custody over Hong Kong school admission bribery charge, awaits sentence for attempt to pay off head teacher

Li Junping, 45, appeared before Eastern Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to offering an advantage to a public servant, an offence punishable by up to three years in prison and a HK$100,000 fine when the case is heard by a magistrate.

The housewife’s lawyer told the court that Li had not been aware of local legislation having just relocated to the city from mainland China.

But Principal Magistrate Ivy Chui Yee-mei said the defendant’s premeditation was clear in how she offered the bribe in two envelopes that she had prepared in advance to conceal the crime.

While parents would understandably try to secure the best school placements for their children, Chui said, this had to be done within the law and any attempt to secure placements through bribes was unfair to other candidates.

The court heard Li, who is from the mainland, moved to Hong Kong in June 2022 alongside her only son who was then aged six.

She filed an application for a Primary One placement at Hennessy Road Government Primary School in Causeway Bay on June 6 last year, as she was unhappy with the result of the Education Bureau’s central allocation scheme.