Hundreds of Hong Kong births go unregistered after one-year deadline, statistics show
City has made millions in fees for birth certificates issued after babies' first 42 days
Hundreds of parents have failed to register their newborn babies' births within their first year, as required, since 1997, and 71 known births have never been registered, according to new Immigration Department figures.
Of the 1,145,901 babies born in the city between July 1997 and March this year, 543 were registered after the infant turned one.
The department has netted HK$6.8 million since 1997 in fees for births registered after 42 days but before 12 months.
Under Hong Kong law, births should be registered within the first 42 days and a birth certificate is issued for free.
Birth certificates for those registered after 42 days but before the baby turns one cost HK$140. After the one-year mark, parents must pay HK$680 and get consent from the Registrar of Births.
Immigration officials are still investigating the 71 cases since 1997 in which babies are known to have been born and not registered for a year or longer.
The longest delay in registering a birth was 15 years.
That may refer to the 15-year-old daughter of a British expatriate and his Filipino partner who jumped to her death last month in Repulse Bay. The girl was born in Hong Kong in 2000 but was never registered.
The issue of birth registration has been under public scrutiny following the girl's death.
But lawmaker Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen did not refer to it when he submitted to the Legislative Council questions about registration statistics. Secretary for Security Lai Tung-kwok provided the figures yesterday.
The girl was the daughter of insurance executive Nick Cousins and his partner Herminia "Grace" Garcia. The couple have another daughter, 14, who is also undocumented.
