Ex-HKUST professor sentenced to 20 weeks in jail for bribery in student admission case

“A former professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has been sentenced to 20 weeks’ imprisonment over bribery to secure the admission of a mainland Chinese student to the university. Liu Hongbin, who served as a chair professor at HKUST when the bribery took place, was sentenced on Thursday at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Court, local media reported . Former HKUST chair professor Liu Hongbin. Photo: HKFP Screenshot. Liu previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for a public servant to accept an advantage and two counts of offering advantages to public servants. He admitted to accepting HK$40,000 in bribes in March and May 2025 from a friend who works as an insurance agent to help secure a mainland Chinese student’s admission to a master’s programme at HKUST. At that time, Liu was a chair professor at the Department of Ocean Science and director of the Master of Science in Environmental Health and Safety programme, which the student applied for. While the student was not qualified for the master’s programme, Liu ordered a lecturer to interview the student and suggested that the lecturer admit the student, the court heard earlier this month. After the student received a conditional offer from HKUST, Liu gave HK$5,000 to the lecturer and HK$1,000 to another staff member who was responsible for admissions. The lecturer then reported the bribery to the department manager and handed over the money. The staff member also handed over the money to the department, local media outlet The Witness reported on Thursday. According to case details revealed in court, Liu was born in mainland China and became a permanent Hong Kong resident in 2002. Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Photo: GovHK. In mitigation, the defence said that Liu had seen the disbandment of his research team at HKUST and suffered from depression following his arrest. Acting principal magistrate May Chung did not accept the defence’s argument that Liu committed the crime because he was affected by others, pointing out that he has been living in Hong Kong for many years, is highly educated, and taught at a university. In response to media enquiries, HKUST said that Liu had resigned from the university.

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