A local couple arrested on suspicion of child neglect has been confirmed as the biological parents of an infant born with no medical records, according to local media.

According to DNA test results, Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin are the parents of two-month-old Danny, local media reported on Thursday, citing unnamed government sources.

The parents, who at first opposed the DNA tests, finally agreed to take them on Wednesday, a day after they were arrested on suspicion of child neglect. The government had demanded that they undergo the tests to register the baby’s birth.

According to media reports, Tsang and Kwan were taken to the Immigration Department headquarters to assist with the investigation on Wednesday after they were released from police detention on a HK$1,000 bail.

The baby boy had not had any medical check-ups since birth, which constituted child neglect, security chief Chris Tang said on Tuesday, when he announced the arrests.

The couple said they practised “free births” and that their baby boy was born in Hong Kong around two months ago. His birth has not been registered, although Hong Kong law stipulates parents must register the birth of a newborn within 42 days of delivery.

Free birth, also called unassisted birth, involves a conscious decision to undergo pregnancy and give birth without professional maternity care or medical intervention. The trend has put the lives of mothers and babies at grave risk.

Infant in gov’t care

Stephanie Lee, a senior social work officer at the Social Welfare Department (SWD), said at a press conference on Wednesday that a court had granted the department a child protection order to care for the baby boy.

She said that Danny remained at the Caritas Medical Centre and would be sent to a care home under the child protection order to ensure his well-being. “We can all rest assured that he is now in the care of professionals,” Lee said.

The SWD will submit a report to the court to determine further welfare arrangements, she added.

Speaking to the press at midnight on Thursday outside the Immigration Department headquarters, the parents said they could apply to visit the child, and that they believed he would be safe with the authorities.

“The arrest was well-intended, as [the authorities] helped us clarify the parental relationship and whether we had committed child abuse,” Tsang said. “They were rather concerned about our son, whether medical care had been inadequate and that his parents’ identities had not been confirmed.”

Prior to their arrests, the couple launched a social media campaign in an attempt to regain custody of their daughter, Lily, from the Swedish government. Their admission of practising “free births” gained widespread attention and sparked concern over Danny’s well-being.

According to local media, the couple’s eldest daughter was born at home in Finland but died in infancy, and the Swedish government removed the second child, Lily, from their care due to health conditions.

A woman has denied charges of offering bribes to Hong Kong immigration officers over a permanent residency application and obstructing anti-graft officers in the execution of their duties.

Wang Subing, an unemployed 36-year-old, appeared at the Kwun Tong Magistrates’ Courts on Thursday, Ming Pao reported.

She was charged with one count of offering an advantage to a public servant and one count of resisting or obstructing officers in the execution of their duties.

The case was adjourned to July 20 for a pre-trial review, and the defendant was released on HK$20,000 bail.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) charged Wang on April 1, the anti-graft watchdog said last month.

According to the ICAC, she lived in Hong Kong on a student visa between mid-2018 and early 2020.

“She later entered Hong Kong as a visitor and had a record of overstaying. The offences took place in 2025,” it said. “At the material time, the defendant was applying for the issuance of a permanent identity card of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.”

The Immigration Department rejected her application because Wang did not meet the requirement of seven years’ ordinary residence in Hong Kong.

Then, on September 17, Wang handed over a letter to immigration officers with banknotes of HK$1,100 and RMB100 – although applications for permanent residency are free of charge.

The ICAC investigated the case after the Immigration Department made a report to the watchdog.

Wang is also accused of resisting or obstructing ICAC officers on October 8, when they tried to take her from the Immigration Headquarters in Tseung Kwan O to the ICAC office.

Offering an advantage to a public servant in Hong Kong is an offence under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of HK$500,000.

Hong Kong has issued its first “very hot weather” warning of the year, with the city expected to endure a heatwave through Friday.

The Hong Kong Observatory (HKO) issued the warning at 7.45am on Tuesday, with the mercury expected to reach 35 degrees Celsius.

The warning is triggered when the mercury is set to reach, or exceed, 33 degrees Celsius. As of around 1:30pm on Tuesday, Cheung Chau was seeing temperatures of 32.1 degrees Celsius.

The city recorded its hottest day of the year on Monday, as temperatures hit 32 degrees Celsius.

The HKO has alerted the public of the risks of heat stroke and sunburn.

The heatwave is expected to continue through to Friday, as an anticyclone aloft brings very hot weather and low pressure to the coast of Guangdong, according to the HKO.

Highs of 33 degrees Celsius are predicted between Tuesday and Friday, while the lows will range between 27 and 29 degrees.

Hong Kong may see showers during this weekend, as temperatures dip slightly to 26-30 degrees Celsius.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that the intensity and frequency of heatwaves have continued to increase since the 1950s due to human-caused climate change. The prevalence of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide – which trap heat in the atmosphere – raises the planet’s surface temperature, with hotter, longer heatwaves putting lives at risk.

See also: How extreme heat became the deadliest silent killer among world weather disasters

Hong Kong has already warmed by 1.7 degrees Celsius since the Industrial Revolution, research NGO Berkeley Earth says. Heat and humidity may reach lethal levels for protracted periods by the end of the century, according to a 2023 study, making it impossible to stay outdoors in some parts of the world.

In a Tuesday statement, the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health reminded members of the public to hydrate regularly, and to avoid strenuous exercise and prolonged activities such as hiking.

It also suggested that outdoor or manual workers should reschedule work to cooler hours as far as possible.

Nevertheless, as of Tuesday lunchtime, the Labour Department had not yet issued a heat stress warning – a three-tier warning system introduced in 2023 to help protect Hong Kong workers from heatstroke. 

Outbound travel during long weekend

Hongkongers enjoyed a three-day weekend, with Monday marking Buddha’s Birthday.

According to the Immigration Department, Hong Kong residents made over 615,000 outbound journeys on Saturday, with over 557,000 travellers heading northbound to Shenzhen and other destinations in mainland China.

The figure marks a week-on-week increase of 36.7 per cent.

From Friday to Monday, Hong Kong residents made nearly 1.87 million outbound trips – a rise of 30.8 per cent compared to the same period last week.

A Hong Kong couple arrested on suspicion of child neglect have said they were granted a birth certificate for their infant but will only be allowed to take him home once they are deemed “safe parents.”

Tsang Wai-bong and Kwan Pui-sin, the parents of a two-month-old infant, Danny, collected the birth certificate from the Immigration Department headquarters in Tseung Kwan O on Sunday, after initially refusing to undergo DNA tests to confirm their parentage.

The couple also told reporters outside the headquarters that they would be allowed to visit Danny for one hour this week and could take him home if they passed a parental assessment with government social workers.

“The social workers will assess our situation, including our ability to act as parents. If the social workers are satisfied with our performance and think that we are safe parents, we believe we can bring Danny home in no time,” said Tsang, Danny’s father.

As part of the assessment, social workers will inspect whether their living accommodation, at a hostel in Lai Chi Kok, is suitable for raising Danny, he said. If it is deemed unsuitable, the government will do its best to find an environment suited to caring for an infant.

Danny is now under a child protection order allowing the Social Welfare Department (SWD) to care for him instead of his parents.

Prior to the arrests, Danny had not had any medical check-ups since birth, which security chief Chris Tang said constituted child neglect when he announced the arrests on Tuesday. They agreed to undergo DNA tests and were confirmed to be Danny’s parents on Thursday.

The couple had said earlier that they practised “free births” and that their baby boy was born in Hong Kong around two months ago. His birth was not registered, although Hong Kong law stipulates that parents must register the birth of a newborn within 42 days of delivery.

Free birth, also called unassisted birth, involves a conscious decision to undergo pregnancy and give birth without professional maternity care or medical intervention. The trend has put the lives of mothers and babies at grave risk.

Their admission of practising “free births” gained widespread attention and sparked concern over Danny’s well-being.

Separately on Sunday, labour chief Chris Sun told journalists that Danny was in good condition in a care home and that social workers would continue to communicate with the two parents.

Tsang also said that he and his wife had signed documents authorising the government to send their DNA to Sweden, where their daughter Lily is now living with an adoptive family after Swedish authorities removed her from the couple’s care over health concerns in December 2023.

One Hong Kong hiker has died, and another one survived after being rescued from a Japanese mountain, according to media reports.

Japanese TV Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (CBC) reported on Tuesday afternoon that two men, believed to be Chinese nationals, were stranded on Mount Okuhotaka, Japan’s third-highest peak, resulting in one fatality.

According to CBC, Japanese police received a report on Sunday that a 22-year-old man, who lived in Tokyo, and a 30-year-old man were stuck on Mount Okuhotaka – the highest peak of the Hida Mountains – in Gifu Prefecture due to poor weather conditions.

The two were reportedly trapped at a 3,163-metre rocky ridge known as “Gendarme,” located west of the Mount Okuhotaka summit.

Earlier search and rescue operations were called off due to persistent bad weather, CBC reported. “A search operation by a Nagano Prefecture disaster relief helicopter began this morning, and both individuals were recovered by 3pm,” it said.

The 30-year-old was sent to hospital in a conscious state and survived, but the 22-year-old was pronounced dead.

Some Threads users said on Monday that two Hong Kong residents were stranded in the Hida Mountains, also known as the Northern Japan Alps, the city’s local media said on Tuesday.

The Hong Kong Immigration Department told local media on Monday that it had received requests for assistance regarding the incident.

The department told HKFP on Tuesday that it had sent staff to accompany the victims’ families to Japan to provide assistance.