Baby Danny DNA case sparks calls for Hong Kong to introduce home birth rules
DNA test results confirm arrested couple are parents of unregistered two-month-old boy
Hong Kong should introduce new rules to ensure the health and safety of newborns delivered at home, lawmakers have said, after a couple were arrested for allegedly neglecting their baby’s welfare by not registering his birth.
The father, Tsang Wai-bong, told the South China Morning Post that he had scheduled a meeting with government social workers on Saturday regarding the guardianship of his two-month-old son Danny, who has been placed in a care home.
Authorities said on Thursday that DNA test results confirmed Tsang and his partner Kwan Pui-sin were Danny’s parents, but more evidence was needed before the birth registration could be completed.
Danny’s home birth in Hong Kong was not registered with the Immigration Department as required by law, with Tsang and Kwan previously declining to submit a DNA test report to confirm they were his parents.
The case sparked citywide concern over Danny’s health and welfare, while revealing that the existing legislation does not have specific provisions for home birth, although the method of delivery is legal.
Social welfare sector lawmaker Grace Chan Man-yee said there was a “legal vacuum” over protecting the health and welfare of babies born at home.