Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chris Sun said the government is highly concerned about the controversial case involving a couple who refused DNA testing required for their baby's birth certificate following a home birth in Hong Kong recently.

Speaking after an event on Tuesday, Sun said he hoped a health check and assessment of the baby boy, as well as a meeting with the parents, could be arranged as soon as possible.

He said relevant departments have been following up on the case.

"From last Thursday, we have been using different methods to get in touch with the parents and family involved," Sun said.

"Our social workers had waited outside their home at various times of the day. They waited until late on one occasion.

"We had also left different contact methods for the parents to reach us.

"It wasn't until yesterday that our social workers were finally able to get in touch with the parents through email."

The incident sparked concern over the internet after the couple opened a social media page called "Save Lily" in the hope of taking back their daughter – who was born at home in Finland in 2021 and did not have a birth certificate – after she was put under a formal care order when the family was in Sweden in 2023.

The couple then returned to Hong Kong and gave birth to a son, Danny, at home.

Speaking on a radio programme on Tuesday, the father, Tsang, said he and his partner have submitted a statement of self-delivery of birth at home.

But the couple have not registered Danny's birth within 42 days of delivery – as required under the law – and refused DNA testing to verify their biological relationship with the infant, citing religious reasons.

Tsang said he and his partner are unwilling to undergo such testing, saying that DNA information is highly sensitive, and hope to know the reasons for the required procedures.

Sun said the Immigration Department would follow up on the issue regarding Danny's birth certificate and that it had also reached out to the Chinese embassy in Sweden through the Commissioner's Office of China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong to follow up on Lily's case.

He also said the administration has a comprehensive mechanism for handling matters when it comes to child welfare and will take steps to address the situation as quickly as possible while taking into account all relevant factors.

Sun added that appropriate support would be forthcoming should the family express any need for it.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden