Large crowd gathers in front of court for child abuse, death case

Taipei, March 19 (CNA) A crowd of over 200 people gathered in front of the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case Wednesday afternoon.

The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and "capital punishment."

They also held white flowers in memory of "Kai Kai (剴剴)," the boy who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023.

The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the older sister Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱), a legally accredited home-based foster carer in Taipei. She and her younger sister Liu Juo-lin (劉若琳) often took care of the children in their care together, said prosecutors.

To prevent incident, about 15 police officers were dispatched to the scene. Many people lined up to enter the court to observe the hearing, and no outbursts were reported.

During the hearing, the defendants asked going forward for witnesses to be separated from the public gallery by a screen to reduce the pressure on those giving testimony.

The prosecutors stated that foreign nationals who had employment relations with the two sisters can testify, but considering the older sister has attempted to influence others' statements, they asked that witnesses be housed in a different place to the defendants in court.

At the end of the hearing, the presiding judge thanked the public for keeping order in the court and refraining from bringing slogans and white flowers into the courtroom.

Citizen judges for the case will be selected and the trial will begin on April 22.

Sentencing in the case is expected to be handed down May 13.

After the hearing, as the sisters were taken out in a prison van, some enraged members of the crowd threw food at the vehicle.

A legal professional said that potential citizen judges could be intimidated by the crowd.

In response to the crowd's appeals, a Ministry of Justice official said that the law has already been amended to increase punishments for child abuse.

Whether or not the law will be further amended will be discussed, with due consideration given to any suggestions and opinions from the public, the official said.