Police on Thursday said they arrested two women for allegedly kidnapping a three-year-old boy in Tseung Kwan O for crypto ransom.

They received a report from a woman that her son was taken from a mall on Wednesday afternoon.

The boy was rescued by officers in the flat of one of the suspects on Thursday morning. He had no apparent injury and was sent to hospital for observation.

Officers said the two suspects had financial difficulties. They also said there's no evidence they knew the boy's family.

"We believe that one of the suspects took the victim by force and moved him to a quieter place nearby, like a park, in a stroller. Another suspect put the kid in a suitcase and then moved him to the flat," said chief superintendent Kwan King-pan.

Kwan said one of the suspects is an HKID holder and the other holds a two-way permit. Both are 38 and unemployed.

He said the suspects asked the boy's family to pay the ransom in cryptocurrency possibly because it's harder to trace, but no ransom was paid.