A recent series of child protection controversies, including a couple refusing a DNA test to register their home-born baby, has prompted calls for Hong Kong authorities to review guidelines for identifying neglect, and to expand the list of professionals required to report suspected abuse.
Under the Mandatory Reporting of Child Abuse Ordinance – which took effect in January – people across 25 designated professions, including those in the social welfare, education and medical sectors, are required to report suspected maltreatment of those aged under 18.
But recent controversy surrounding an unmarried couple who failed to register the birth of their home-born son has highlighted a grey area over whether doctors should check the identity certificates of infants they treat.
The couple, Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin, once took their two-month-old son Danny to see a doctor for a check-up, but the Social Welfare Department received no mandatory reports before their arrest for suspected child neglect last week.
A department spokesman said authorities only attempted to reach out to them after their case came to light on social media.
Under the ordinance, any harm caused by child neglect that endangers his life or health must be reported. But it did not spell out whether doctors should check the birth certificates of babies.