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A Hong Kong flag flies aboard a vessel. Parents in the Sha Tin district were sentenced for paying bribes to gain entrance to a top preschool.Tyrone Siu/Reuters
In September, 2019, Vida Lau, a former lawyer, sent in an application on behalf of her youngest son to one of Hong Kong’s top preschools.
Based in a luxury housing estate overlooking Tolo Harbour in northern Sha Tin district, the Wu Kai Sha International Kindergarten is operated by the English Schools Foundation (ESF), which runs 24 international schools in Hong Kong, including six K1 preschools accepting kids from the age of three.
ESF schools are pricey − the Wu Kai Sha branch currently charges 111,400 Hong Kong dollars ($20,000) a year − and competitive. To secure a place, both children and their parents are assessed during interview-style “play visits.” But even reaching that stage can be difficult, with 300 to 400 applicants competing for some 250 interview slots and only 175 kids actually getting a place at the school.
Wealthier parents can skip the queue by paying a 500,000 Hong Kong dollar ($88,000) debenture “to gain a priority play visit appointment” at an ESF kindergarten of their choice, though this still does not guarantee a spot at the school.
Ms. Lau took an alternative approach.
This week, after a years-long investigation, she was one of 14 people jailed for paying bribes to a former ESF administrator at the Wu Kai Sha kindergarten, in a case the judge said “eroded the foundational integrity of Hong Kong society.”
The case has echoes of the “Varsity Blues” scandal, in which 53 people were charged in connection with a US$25-million bribery scheme to secure places for their children at top U.S. universities, including Stanford, Yale and the University of Southern California.
Indeed, the two cases overlapped, with the Hong Kong scheme beginning just as the U.S. one was unravelling. And in a Chinese territory where an overriding focus on education and intense competition means children often prep for school admission interviews and tests almost from birth, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the parents in the ESF case were focused not on university but kindergarten places.
According to court documents, Ms. Lau initially attempted to apply legitimately. But her son flubbed his first interview and had to come back for a second visit in early 2020. He did fine, but the ESF administrator in charge of admissions, Fatima Rumjahn, said there was little chance the boy would gain a place, given that there were at least 20 children higher on the wait list.
Ms. Rumjahn suggested Ms. Lau pay the 500,000 Hong Kong dollar debenture to improve her son’s chances, but she balked at this, so Ms. Rumjahn said she could personally help arrange a place for the boy – for the comparatively low price of 100,000 Hong Kong dollars.
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Several weeks later, the two women met at a restaurant in a mall in central Sha Tin, where Ms. Lau handed over a paper bag containing 100,000 Hong Kong dollars in cash and a luxury watch. Her son got into the school.
This wasn’t the first time Ms. Rumjahn had made such an arrangement. Months earlier, she had helped another mother, Julia Wong, secure her son a spot in a similar fashion.
Ms. Wong met with Ms. Rumjahn and told her she worried that her son, who was quiet and introverted, would struggle to get a place. Ms. Rumjahn confirmed the school “preferred to admit children with lively and cheerful personalities,” Ms. Wong later testified.
Ms. Rumjahn told her she could provide “interview training” for 100,000 Hong Kong dollars, which she purportedly conducted over WhatsApp. The boy got into the school.
In mid-2020, the scheme ballooned. Ms. Lau referred a friend to Ms. Rumjahn, telling them she was someone who could “pull some strings” and would be cheaper than paying the debenture. Ms. Rumjahn also approached several other parents, offering them her secret “training course.”
According to a later ESF audit, two children jumped more than 200 places thanks to Ms. Rumjahn’s intervention, while many others skipped dozens of spots.
Three only saw their ranking improved by one or two places − including Ms. Lau’s and Ms. Wong’s sons. Ms. Rumjahn admitted in court that she’d lied to Ms. Lau about her boy’s ranking: There were only two other applicants ahead of him, so he may have gained a spot on merit alone.
That audit was carried out in early 2021, after ESF received an anonymous tip. Ms. Rumjahn admitted what she’d done soon after auditor Lau Ka-man confronted her with her initial findings. The administrator was promptly fired, and the case was referred to the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
In October, 2024, Ms. Rumjahn pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the 14 people from whom she had solicited bribes. She will be sentenced at a later date.
All 14 other defendants were found guilty in February, with the court rejecting claims by several defendants that they thought they were paying Ms. Rumjahn for legitimate coaching.
On Tuesday, they were handed sentences ranging from eight to 14 months in prison. Ms. Lau received one of the toughest sentences, 11 months.
Justice Amy Chan said the defendants had demonstrated “no remorse” and castigated them for undermining the fairness of the admissions process and the “integrity of Hong Kong society.”
“It is understandable the defendants were eager to help their children get off to a flying start due to the high hopes pinned on them,” she said. “Nevertheless, they have to obey the law.”
