A Hong Kong court has convicted a professor of offering a HK$1,000 (US$128) bribe to a property agent in an attempt to avoid paying HK$16,000 in compensation for breaching a tenancy agreement more than three years ago.

Sha Tin Court on Tuesday rejected mainland Chinese scholar Du Du’s claim that he had only intended to reimburse the agent after backing out of a provisional tenancy agreement on the same day he signed it.

In finding the 48-year-old guilty of offering an advantage to an agent, the court also dismissed his “incredible” claim that he thought the contract was just a memorandum, which was not legally binding.

The trial heard that Du, an associate professor in City University’s Department of Economics and Finance, initially agreed on November 6, 2022, to rent a flat at the Peak One residential complex in Tai Wai through a Midland Realty agent.

He soon changed his mind, claiming that he had made the decision under undue influence.

The agent, Sammi Chung Fong-chau, said she was bombarded with text messages from Du that day, in which he asked to settle the matter “as a friend”.