Mainland China mum who offered bribe for son’s Hong Kong school place spared jail

Cai Yu, 39, told court she ‘underestimated’ consequences of offering HK$10,000 bribe to assistant principal of CMA Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School

A mainland Chinese mother who tried to secure a Hong Kong secondary school place for her son by offering a bribe to an assistant principal received a suspended jail sentence on Tuesday.

Cai Yu, 39, was also accused of deleting evidence after anti-corruption authorities launched an investigation.

The woman on Tuesday told acting principal magistrate Daniel Tang Siu-hung at Tuen Mun Court that she “underestimated” the legal consequences of attempting to offer a HK$10,000 (US$1,276) bribe to Danny Hung Siu-tan, assistant principal of CMA Choi Cheung Kok Secondary School in Tuen Mun.

The court heard that in September 2024, Cai, who lives in Shenzhen, met Hung to discuss enrolling her son. Hung said the boy would have to enter Secondary One if he did not sit the admission exam.

The boy, who is now 15, refused to take the exam at the time.

The court earlier heard that Hung, who pleaded not guilty and stood trial, did not take the bribe. Instead, he told the mother he was under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.