Hsinchu day care center suspends operations after abuse claims

Taipei, Aug. 15 (CNA) A day care center in Hsinchu County suspended operations and issued a public apology Wednesday amid claims its staff tied up infants for hours at a time.

The Natural Way Nursery Center in Zhubei City said it "voluntarily" applied to suspend operations "indefinitely," adding it would fully cooperate with a social services investigation into the alleged abuse.

The county government said two employees suspected of wrongdoing have been dismissed by the day care center.

Center staff had earlier been accused of tying infants to bamboo chairs as well as leaving them alone in cots and playpens for several hours at a time.

Parents told local media they had contacted police after discovering bruises and other trauma markings on their children, leading Hsinchu County to begin investigating the allegations on July 15.

However, at a news conference with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Hsinchu County Councillor Ouyang Ting (歐陽霆) and independent Hsinchu County Councillor He Chih-ta (何智達) Thursday, one parent said parts of the case remained "unclear" and that there were "systematic problems" at the day care's operator, Natural Way Education Foundation.

Ouyang, meanwhile, said that security camera footage showed multiple children being tied to chairs. "The [center's] director also saw, but didn't react at all, as if everything was as it should be."

Noting that the Natural Way Education Foundation has multiple sites, He called on the Hsinchu County government to "speed up the investigation" so the company's owners would not "evade responsibility."

According to Natural Way Education Foundation's official website, the company offers "Chinese culture education" to nursery-to-middle-school-aged children at two sites in Hsinchu County, one in Hsinchu City and two in Taichung.

The Hsinchu County's Social Affairs Department said on Thursday that the center's owners and the accused employees could face fines of between NT$60,000 (US$1,856) and NT$600,000 if found guilty of wrongdoing according to the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act.