Two women accused of kidnapping a three-year-old boy in Tseung Kwan O were remanded in custody after appearing in court on Saturday.

The pair, Xue Shanshan and Leung Lai-wa, both unemployed, faced a charge of kidnapping for allegedly forcibly taking the boy against his will from a mall on Wednesday with the intent of obtaining ransom in exchange for the child's release.

The boy, allegedly taken for a ransom in cryptocurrency, was rescued by officers in a flat in Tseung Kwan O on Thursday morning.

Eastern Court Magistrate Don So rejected a bail application from one of the women, and the other did not apply for bail.

The case has been adjourned until September 23.