Taichung preschool to suspend operations amid child abuse claims

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) A private preschool in Taichung's Wuri District has been ordered to suspend operations for a year, effective from Sept. 1, after six more teachers were accused of child abuse, the city's Education Bureau said in a statement on Monday.

The move came after the bureau found six teachers may have mistreated children at the preschool, following a case in July in which parents accused a different teacher of abusing their children, the statement said.

That teacher has now been fined NT$240,000 (US$75,000) and will not be allowed to work at a preschool for four years, after their actions were deemed gross violations of the Statute for Preschool Educators, the bureau said.

The bureau explained that it began conducting an on-site inspection immediately upon receiving the report from parents on July 29. The teacher was suspended and a probe launched after a municipal committee meeting determined the teacher had inflicted inappropriate punishment on some children.

At an Aug. 2 news conference, six parents lodged accusations against the teacher for tying their children's hands with tape and locking them in a dark room as punishment for misbehavior.

The teacher was also found to have hit several children on their head and back with a tambourine, forcefully pulled their mattresses, dragged them, force-fed them, and locked them in toilets, the bureau said.

Meanwhile, the bureau said it has started another investigation regarding the other six teachers, based on surveillance camera footage from the preschool over the past 14 days and following interviews with more than 100 parents.

The bureau added it would also look into whether the facility had tried to cover up the incidents.

Given the preschool's failure to properly oversee its operations, which seriously undermined children's rights, its operations will be suspended for a year from September, the bureau said.

The preschool's name and operator will be made public, and a task force will help transfer children to other educational facilities, the bureau added.