A former professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has been sentenced to 20 weeks in prison for taking a bribe to secure the admission of a Chinese student to the university.
Liu Hongbin, who served as a chair professor at HKUST when the bribery took place, was sentenced Thursday at the Kwun Tong Magistrate’s Court, local media reported reported.
Liu previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring for a public servant to accept an advantage and two counts of providing advantages to public servants.
He admitted accepting HK$40,000 in bribes in March and May 2025 from a friend who works as an insurance agent to help secure a Chinese student’s admission to a master’s program at HKUST.
At the time, Liu was a professor in the Department of Ocean Science and director of the Master of Science in Environmental Health and Safety program for which the student applied.
While the student was not eligible for the master’s program, Liu ordered a lecturer to interview the student and suggested 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 in charge of admissions.
The lecturer then reported the bribe to the department manager and handed over the money. The staff member also handed over the money to the department, local media reported reported on Thursday.
According to details of the case disclosed in court, Liu was born in mainland China and became a permanent resident of Hong Kong in 2002.
In mitigation, the defense said Liu had seen the disbandment of his research team at HKUST and suffered from depression after his arrest.
Acting Chief Magistrate May Chung rejected the defense’s argument that Liu committed the crime because he was influenced by others, noting that he has lived in Hong Kong for many years, is highly educated and teaches at a university.
In response to media inquiries, HKUST said that Liu had resigned from the university.
