Calls to tighten child protection rules after baby Danny case in Hong Kong

A recent series of child protection controversies, including a couple who initially refused DNA testing to register their home-born baby, has prompted calls for Hong Kong authorities to review guidelines for identifying neglect and to expand the list of professionals required to report suspected abuse.

Under the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance – which took effect in January – people in 25 designated professions, including those in the social welfare, education and healthcare sectors, are required to report suspected maltreatment of minors.

But the recent controversy surrounding an unmarried couple who initially failed to register the birth of their home-born son has highlighted a grey area over whether doctors should check the birth certificates of infants they treat.

The couple, Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin, said they took their two-month-old son Danny to see a doctor for a check-up, but the Social Welfare Department received no mandatory report before their arrest for suspected child neglect last week.

A department spokesman said authorities only tried to reach out to them after their case came to light on social media.

Under the ordinance, any harm caused by child neglect that endangers the life of the minor must be reported. But it does not spell out whether doctors should check the birth certificates of babies.