Hong Kong court dismisses ‘free birth’ father’s ‘inappropriate’ bid to regain custody of baby Danny from gov’t

A Hong Kong court has ruled against a father's attempt to regain custody of his infant son Danny, who was born at home and remains under government supervision. Tsang Wai-bong, along with Kwan Pui-sin, are members of the free birth movement, which promotes unassisted home births. When Danny was born unassisted, he was placed in government custody.

The father filed a habeas corpus application, a legal tool to challenge his son's detention, on June 6, 2026, citing allegations of torture and arbitrary detention. However, High Court Judge Queeny Au-Yeung dismissed the application, ruling that Danny was not under detention and stating that the application was "entirely inappropriate."

The judge added that none of the father's arguments had merit. Danny has been under the care of a government-appointed organization since June, following a three-year protection order imposed by the Juvenile Court due to child neglect allegations. Tsang intends to challenge the child protection order in the magistrates' courts, with the next hearing scheduled for August 28.

The couple, who have a second child, Lily, is currently fighting for custody of Lily in a Swedish court, with the Swedish social welfare agency seeking permanent custody transfer to a foster family.