Nanny sisters sentenced to life, 18 years in infant abuse death case

Taipei, May 13 (CNA) Two sisters, both formerly registered nannies surnamed Liu (劉), have been sentenced to life imprisonment and 18 years, respectively, for torturing a one-year-old boy in their care to death, the Taipei District Court ruled Tuesday.

Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) received a life sentence, while her younger sister Liu Juo-lin (劉若琳) was sentenced to 18 years on charges including child abuse resulting in death, according to a panel of professional and citizen judges.

The court found the sisters "derived pleasure from abuse," describing their conduct as extremely malicious and severely harmful.

The sisters have also not reached a settlement with the child's grandmother, and their potential for social reintegration was assessed as moderate to moderately high, the court said.

Hired by the Child Welfare League Foundation (CWLF), the older sister was assigned to provide full-time foster care for a one-year-old boy nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴).

Kai Kai's mother went missing after giving birth to him in February 2022 in New Taipei. With the father's whereabouts unknown, custody of the boy was transferred to his grandmother, who expressed her intention to place him up for adoption in June 2023. The case was subsequently taken over by the CWLF.

Together with her younger sister, Liu Juo-lin -- who frequently assisted in caring for children -- the two were indicted in April 2024 for repeatedly abusing, restraining and injuring the child between September and December 2023.

According to the ruling, the sisters not only beat and starved Kai Kai, but also tied him up with ropes and cloth, bent his body forcefully, and covered his eyes with a face mask. He suffered at least 42 abuse-related injuries.

Kai Kai was found unconscious on Dec. 24, 2023, and later died from his injuries after the sister's took the infant to a local hospital.

Following the verdict, the lawyer of the child's grandmother, Lin Shuai-hsiao (林帥孝), said that although the ruling did not meet public expectations for the death penalty, he appreciated the court for imposing the maximum sentence in law as requested by the family.

Lin said that Liu Tsai-hsuan's life term reflects society's call for long-term imprisonment to prevent further harm to children. The family will consider whether to appeal the younger sister's sentence, he added.

The sisters were also indicted in January 2024 for allegedly abusing two other young children in their care in 2023. One reported incident in Sept. 2023 involved forcing a 6-month-old child to stand with one foot on a chair and the other on the ground, causing pain and distress.

The verdicts can still be appealed.