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Elizabeth Cheung

Veronica Qi

The parents of a Hong Kong baby taken into care have applied for a legal order to review the custody decision by welfare authorities, expressing “fear and anger” over arrangements for the boy to receive “medical intervention” against their wishes.
Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin said on Friday they had already asked that their son, Danny, not be vaccinated, adding that the decision to remove him from their custody should not be based on their opposition to vaccines and prenatal check-ups.
Three-month-old Danny was placed under the guardianship of the Social Welfare Department last month after his parents were arrested for suspected child neglect as they had failed to register his identity following his birth at home. The parents were later released on bail.
The couple filed a writ of habeas corpus, a legal tool aimed at securing the immediate release of a person from unlawful or unjustifiable detention, at the High Court on Friday.
Speaking outside court, they accused the department of violating Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
They said that placing Danny in a children’s shelter, limiting their visits to once or twice a week and effectively forcing them to stop breastfeeding amounted to treatment banned under Article 7.
Tsang told the South China Morning Post earlier on Friday that he felt “fear and anger” over the authorities’ ongoing arrangements to have his son vaccinated and undergo blood tests.
“We are not [fully] optimistic or pessimistic, but remain hopeful and will keep our personal integrity,” Tsang said.
He said that if Danny received any medical intervention against their wishes, they would treat it as a “sacrifice” that would “allow Hong Kong people and the world to know about the truth of child protection [carried out] by social services and the government”.
They said the application was intended to protect Danny’s health and safety, alleging that the department had failed to protect him from inhumane treatment and arbitrary detention or to respect his right to family life.


The Social Welfare Department said on Friday that it was carrying out statutory supervision over the care and protection of the baby boy in accordance with the protection order and instructions previously issued by the court. It added that it would submit a report to the court in due course.
The couple previously failed to register Danny’s birth and only agreed to undergo DNA testing to prove their parentage after they were arrested in early June for alleged child neglect. The baby has been in protective care since then.
Authorities stepped in after the couple posted extensively on social media about their four-year-old daughter, Lily, who was taken into care by Swedish social services in 2023.
In the latest development, Tsang told the SCMP that they had decided to apply for a writ of habeas corpus after realising the “seriousness of the infringement of [their] rights” upon reading legal documents related to the care order.
The couple also said in a statement on Thursday that authorities had failed to justify the decision to take Danny away by proving the pair posed a “significant risk of harm” to him.
The parents cited a 2006 family court case in the United Kingdom, in which a judge noted that “society must be willing to tolerate very diverse standards of parenting, including the eccentric, the barely adequate and the inconsistent”.
“This case shows that the Social Welfare Department has no right to separate Danny from us as we do not accept vaccines and prenatal check-ups,” the couple said.
“The department also has no right to limit the frequency or duration of our meetings with Danny, as it has never proved that the meetings could have any negative impact.”

Tsang compared the situation with that of Lily in Sweden, saying Swedish social services had consulted the couple about vaccinations and, after seeking legal advice, told them they would not carry out preventive medical treatment against the parents’ wishes.
The couple said the department had used its power to ask doctors to vaccinate Danny and conduct blood tests against their wishes.
“We have already sent a letter to the Social Welfare Department requesting that it suspend the decision to vaccinate him, as we need time to seek legal advice and apply for judicial review,” they said.
Tsang previously said they would not appeal against the court’s decision but hoped to regain custody of the child within a year or two by passing the department’s assessments.
According to legal documents from overseas courts, the couple’s eldest daughter, Constance, died in infancy after a home birth in Finland in 2019. The family later moved to Sweden, where Lily, who was also born at home, was taken into care.
Additional reporting by Fiona Sun


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‘Fear and anger’ drive parents to seek legal review of city’s custody of baby Danny

Parents Kwan Pui-sin and Tsang Wai-bong address the media outside the High Court in Admiralty. Photo: Karma Lo

Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin arrive at West Kowloon Court for a hearing on June 26. Photo: Sun Yeung

Tsang Wai-bong (left) and Kwan Pui-sin with their son, Danny. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong couple files complaint with UN over Swedish custody plans for daughter

Kwan Pui-sin and Tsang Wai-bong are embroiled in a legal dispute with Swedish authorities over the custody of their four-year-old daughter, Lily. Photo: Handout

Tsang (left) and Kwan also have a son, three-month-old Danny, who has been placed in the care of Hong Kong social welfare authorities for three years. Photo: Sun Yeung

Baby Danny’s 3-year care order can be cut short if in his best interests: minister

Danny’s parents, Tsang Wai-bong (left) and Kwan Pui-sin. Photo: Sun Yeung

Chris Sun says the government will take good care of the baby during the guardianship period granted by the Juvenile Court. Photo: Dickson Lee

News

Hong Kong

Society

Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin argue son should not be taken away from them because of their stance against vaccinations and prenatal check-ups


Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin argue son should not be taken away from them because of their stance against vaccinations and prenatal check-ups.


Sweden

Britain

The High Court

‘Fear and anger’ drive parents to seek legal review of city’s custody of baby Danny

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin argue son should not be taken away from them because of their stance against vaccinations and prenatal check-ups

Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin argue son should not be taken away from them because of their stance against vaccinations and prenatal check-ups