Former employee of Hong Kong ESF school group pleads guilty to accepting bribes for K1 places

A former kindergarten administrator at Hong Kong’s largest international school group has pleaded guilty to taking bribes to help parents find places for their children, while also planning to pocket HK$530,000 (US$68,180) for investments.

She admitted the four counts of accepting an advantage, involving bribes totaling HK$190,000, before Deputy District Judge Amy Chan Wai-mun at the 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 move their children up the Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten waiting list and contribute to guarantee registration.

She also pleaded guilty to five of eight counts of conspiracy to accept a benefit, involving HK$530,000, in exchange for obtaining K1 placements in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years .

She was employed by the educational services of the ESF and was then responsible for processing applications, the nursery school accepting admissions to K1 every September.

According to the admission criteria, children of staff, former students or parents who have purchased FSE school bonds are admitted as a priority.