Couple who took kids storm-chasing during typhoon cleared of child neglect after judge issues behaviour order

“A Hong Kong couple who took their children storm-chasing during Super Typhoon Ragasa last year have been acquitted of child neglect, with the court issuing them a good behaviour order for three years. A marine police vessel parked near the Mercedes-Benz Chai Wan Brand Centre, where a family of three fell into the sea during typhoon signal No. 8 on September 23, 2025. Photo: TVB News, via YouTube. The couple, known only by their initials YKK and LRQ, appeared at the Eastern Magistrates’ Courts on Tuesday morning. In March, they were charged with “ill-treatment or neglect by those in charge of child or young person” in relation to an incident on September 23 last year, when a No. 8 typhoon signal was in effect due to Super Typhoon Ragasa. The couple went to watch the waves at a waterfront in Chai Wan with their two children. The mother and their five-year-old son were washed away by waves , and the father jumped in to save them. The Eastern Law Courts Building. Photo: Almond Li/HKFP. The three were rescued by a boat operator and firefighters and were later taken to Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital. The mother and son were in a critical condition, local media reported at the time. The couple’s nine-year-old daughter was not injured. Magistrate Kestrel Lam ordered the two defendants to sign a bind-over order, an agreement between a court and a defendant to maintain good behaviour for a certain period. It is typically used for minor offences that are unlikely to be repeated, and the defendant is not left with a criminal record. The bind-over order they signed was for a period of three years and in the sum of HK$2,000, meaning they will be fined HK$2,000 if they commit a similar offence during that time.

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