Two children ‘born in secret’ in Sydney

The shocking case of a Chinese couple who hid their two children at their Sydney home has been revealed.

A Chinese-born couple homeschooled their two children and kept their existence a secret out of fear of their parents’ disapproval, a tribunal has heard.

Mother Wen Li and Jintao Wu appeared at the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal last week in a bid to get birth certificates for two of their children – 13-year-old Tiana and five-year-old Jasper.

The parents, who are now in their 30s, explained how the children had been homeschooled up until this point and wished to get the birth certificates so they could get a formal education.

Ms Li explained to the tribunal that the pair had the children in secret as they were “afraid” to tell their parents who were in China.

She fell pregnant with Tiana when she was still in high school – with the pair on student visas.

The two children were born at home in secret. Picture: Facebook

The couple’s third child was born in RPA last year. Picture: iStock

Ms Li said she wanted to keep Tiana’s existence as “low-profile” as possible and delivered her at their home in Hurstville without medical assistance in December 2011.

“They found themselves in this difficult situation with very limited legal knowledge, and were unsure about how their circumstances would impact their educational prospects and visa status,” the tribunal heard.

“[Their parents] hold very traditional and conservative views, with cultural norms placing significant pressure on unmarried mothers, especially as she was a teenager at the time.”

The tribunal heard how the couple even avoided places where they would possibly run into people they knew, concerned about being “found out”.

The pair now want the children to be able to be enrolled in school – as Tiana’s school becomes “more challenging”.

“They also wanted her to have more friends of the same age, but could not enrol her in school because of the admission requirements of a birth certificate and vaccination record,” the tribunal heard.

Tiana did not visit a medical centre until 2023 and has had no vaccinations.

The parents told the tribunal that whenever she had a fever, they would give her Panadol to which she would “recover quickly”.

The couple told the tribunal Jasper also has had no vaccinations – however – has some medical records after cutting his hand on broken glass while playing outside at 18 months old.

As he did not have Medicare records, the couple were sent the bill from the hospital.

The couple also gave birth to a third child – Sylvia – at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in 2024.

Despite having limited witnesses to the children’s actual birth due to the secrecy, the tribunal issued birth certificates for both Jasper and Tiana.

“Now Tiana and Jasper play for an hour each afternoon in the park near their home, where they can make new friends,” the tribunal said in their decision.

“Both children are sociable and enjoy making friends, showing no signs of isolation or fear of the outside world despite being educated at home.”