Hong Kong court places baby Danny in Social Welfare Department care for 3 years

A Hong Kong court has granted the guardianship of home-born baby Danny to social welfare authorities for three years after his parents were earlier arrested for alleged child neglect.

Danny’s father, Tsang Wai-bong, revealed on Friday that their two-month-old son would be under the Social Welfare Department’s care after the Juvenile Court granted the authorities’ application for a protection order at a closed-door hearing.

Tsang and his partner Kwan Pui-sin, who previously failed to register Danny’s birth, only agreed to cooperate with the government to undergo DNA testing to prove their parentage after they were arrested earlier this month for alleged child neglect.

The unmarried couple disclosed that social welfare authorities had classified baby Danny as a “high-risk” child and allowed the parents to visit him once per week.

“The court just went through the motions and passed the protection order,” Tsang said after the hearing.

The father said they would not appeal against the court’s decision, but wished to take the child back within a year or two through passing the authorities’ assessments.

He criticised the court and the social welfare authorities for focusing only on whether Danny would receive recommended medical treatment, while neglecting the parents’ views on minimising invasive procedures where possible.