The SUN HK : Filipina DH fined $200 for failing to register newborn

By Daisy CL Mandap

HK law requires all live births to be reported to authorities within 42 days

A Filipina former domestic worker who failed to register the birth of her daughter within the 42 days required by law, was fined $200 at Shatin Magistracy yesterday, Nov. 17.

Sheryl P. Bo, 32, was also given a 10-day jail term suspended for 24 months, after she was found to have overstayed her visa for three-and-a-half months.

Magistrate David Cheung was told Bo had arrived in Hong Kong to work as a domestic helper in 2018, but her contract was terminated prematurely on Mar 28, 2022 when her employers had to relocate to another country.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

She was already pregnant at the time, and gave birth to a baby girl at Tuen Mun Hospital on June 30 this year. However, she did not register the birth within the period prescribed by law in Hong Kong.

Under sec 7 of the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance, the father is obliged to report the birth of his child to the local registrar, or in his place, the mother, within 42 days.. In case of the death, illness, absence, or inability of either to comply with this obligation, the occupier of the house in which the child was born, or anybody present during the birth, shall make the report.

Pindutin para sa detalye

In court, the defense lawyer said Bo had lost contact with the father of her child by then, and she became the baby’s sole caregiver.

On August 10, she applied for an extension of stay at the Immigration Department, where her having overstayed her visa was discovered, along with her failure to register her daughter’s birth.

She was told to get the birth registered immediately, and she complied on August 24, with help from PathFinders, a non-government organization that helps migrant mothers and children in Hong Kong.

In mitigation, her lawyer asked the court to impose a non-custodial sentence, saying Bo has to look after her baby, now four months old, by herself.

PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE

In addition, Bo has a clear record, had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, and regretted her offences.

The lawyer said they realized a fine is prescribed for those who fail to register a live birth within the prescribed period, but asked the magistrate to impose an amount that takes into consideration that Bo is unemployed and has to provide solely for her daughter.

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The Ordinance prescribes a maximum fine of $2,000 and imprisonment of up to six months if a live birth is not reported within 42 days by those responsible.

Cheung said he was imposing a fine of $300 but would reduce it to $200. When he asked if Bo was amenable to paying a $200 fine, she readily agreed, and said she could pay the amount immediately.