Hong Kong police rescued a boy and arrested two women on Thursday, about 12 hours after the three-year-old was abducted from a shopping centre in Tseung Kwan O for an alleged ransom of more than HK$5mil .

A source familiar with the case said the boy was found at a flat at The Wings private housing estate in Tseung Kwan O shortly before 5.30am.

The insider added that the boy, guarded by police, was taken to Tseung Kwan O Hospital for a medical examination.

A spokesman from the force said police received a report at about 4.30pm on Wednesday that the boy had been forcibly taken from a shopping centre in Tseung Kwan O. The Post learned that the boy was abducted from TKO Plaza, where he was with his mother, her family and other children.

“At 5.25am on Thursday, police rescued the boy and arrested two suspects in Tseung Kwan O,” the spokesman said.

A photo circulating online, captured from surveillance camera footage, shows the boy being grabbed and carried away by an individual wearing a cap, a face mask and shorts.

The source said the family was later told to pay 660,000 Tether digital coins worth more than HK$5.1mil to have the boy released.

Tether is a cryptocurrency stablecoin, which is a type of digital currency that aims to maintain a steady valuation.

He also said the victim was not randomly abducted, suggesting there might be another motive behind the case.

Officers from the Organised Crime and Triad Bureau are currently investigating the case, which is treated as a kidnapping.

In Hong Kong, abduction is punishable by up to life in prison under the Offences against the Person Ordinance.

In the first five months of this year, the city’s violent crime rate rose by 9.4% to 4,237 cases, compared with 3,872 reports logged in the same period in 2023.

 - SCMP