18:35
ENGLAND --- A failing student and son of a Chinese government official was jailed for trying to bribe a British university professor with £5,000 to pass his degree.
Yang Li, 26, had a loaded replica gun and the money in his pocket when he went to meet Professor Andrew Graves at the University of Bath, Bristol crown court heard.
Li had been given a mark of 37% in his dissertation, short of the 40% needed to pass.
Graves told him he could resubmit the 12,000-word essay, appeal against the mark or accept it and withdraw from the course.
That would have affected Li’s visa which he was hoping to upgrade from a student visa to a tier 1 visa.
Li offered: "I am a businessman," and placed £5,000 in cash on the table in front of him. "You can keep the money if you give me a pass mark and I won't bother you again," Li was alleged to have said.
Graves asked Li to leave but as the student put the money away, a replica handgun loaded with six pellets fell from his pocket to the floor, the court heard.
The judge, Michael Longman, told Li that the weapon caused fear and alarm to the professor at the meeting.
"You attempted to persuade a university professor to behave in such a way that if it had been successful you would have undermined the integrity of the universities in the UK and the legitimacy of degrees from universities here, the University of Bath in particular," Longman said.
Li, who was studying for a masters in innovation and technology management, admitted charges of bribery and possessing an imitation firearm. He was sentenced to 12 months in prison and ordered to pay £4,880 in prosecution costs.
Bribery: Chinese student Yang Li was jailed for 12 months after offering his professor £5,000 in cash in a bid to pass his degree
When Li's attempts at bribery failed and he was asked to leave he picked up his coat and this air pistol fell from t
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