Control Yuan discusses media disclosure regarding child abuse cases

Taipei, July 17 (CNA) The Control Yuan has weighed in on doubts regarding the extent of proper media coverage when reporting on sexual abuse cases involving minors in a Wednesday press statement.

Control Yuan members Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) said that Article 69 of the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act intends to prevent minors victimized by abuse being identified and resulting in secondary victimization, not to protect perpetrators.

Furthermore, to prevent more abuse, according to paragraph four of the article, the relevant authorities can take the initiative when they deem disclosure to be necessary for the better interests of the children and youth and allow media to disclose those involved in criminal cases, they added.

The statement comes in the wake of a case involving a Taipei private preschool teacher Mao Chun-shen (毛畯珅), who was indicted in August 2023 on charges of molesting six children. A verdict on the case is expected in August 2024. He is also being investigated on a separate case of the same nature that involves at least 20 allegations.

The suspect was investigated multiple times for sexual abuse against minors, with the first complaints filed in June 2022, but continued to teach at the Taipei Piramide School (台北市私立培諾米達幼兒園), which was owned by his mother, until being detained in July 2023.

The names of the suspect and preschool were fully disclosed for the first time on official public records in this statement.

The time gap between the first accusations and Mao's detention resulted in parents and NGO groups questioning if some of the abuses might have been prevented if the suspicions had been reported by the media and parents had been made aware.

Yeh, Tien and Chi said that they received a petition from the parents of the victims at the beginning of the year and launched an investigation into whether the Taipei City Government and Taipei District Prosecutors Office had fully carried out their responsibilities of monitoring and investigating the case in 2022.

The officials noted that the city government's Education Department had considered Mao guilty of the allegations, banning the man from working in the profession in Taiwan ever again and publishing his name on a list of debarred teachers on a central government website in September 2023 as well as revoked the preschool's license on Oct. 1, 2023.

However, the department did not reveal Mao's and the preschool's names in their press statement announcing investigation results in March 2024. The contradictory treatment resulted in the misunderstanding that the existing regulations protect perpetrators, the officials said.

The three Control Yuan members will be keeping an eye on the developments of the case, as well as clarify a standard on disclosure regarding minor abuse from central and local governments that the media can follow, they said.