Kaohsiung government accused of covering up sexual assault case

Taipei, Jan. 5 (CNA) A group of opposition Kuomintang (KMT) politicians on Monday accused the Kaohsiung City government of covering up a sexual assault incident involving a senior health official by withholding information from the public for six months.

Speaking at a news conference, KMT Legislator Ko Chih-en (柯志恩) joined several Kaohsiung City councilors from the party in demanding an apology from Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) and the resignation of Huang Chih-chung (黃志中), director-general of the city's Department of Health.

They also called on the city's office of ethics to investigate how information in the case was handled.

According to prosecutors, the suspect, identified only by his surname Ho (何), accessed the city's mental health care inquiry system in June 2025 and obtained the contact information of a 16-year-old minor with a past trauma.

He then added her on the messaging app LINE and allegedly sexually assaulted her after luring her out. The victim later reported the incident to the local police.

Though the suspect was indicted on charges of sexual assault and violations of the Personal Data Protection Act in October 2025, KMT politicians alleged a cover-up because the case was not made public by the city until Jan. 2, 2026.

That is when prosecutors issued a brief press statement noting that a suspect had been indicted in the case.

In a separate statement after the prosecutors went public with the indictment, the city government responded that it strictly maintained confidentiality during the investigation in line with prosecutors' requirements to protect the victim and prevent secondary harm.

A dedicated medical team has been assigned to monitor the victim's physical and mental well-being, Huang said, and the suspect was dismissed from his job and fined NT$600,000 under the Child and Juvenile Welfare and Rights Protection Act.

The KMT's Ko argued, however, that Huang used the "excuse" of "protecting the victim" to avoid oversight, accusing him of not noticing that a subordinate had illegally accessed personal data online hundreds of times but later offered excuses to cover up management lapses.

Ho served as executive secretary at the department's Community Mental Health Center, which handles cases involving drug abuse, suicide, domestic violence, sexual assault, and other related issues.

He had previously received an award for "outstanding supervision in strengthening the social safety net" from the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW).

Deputy Health Minister Lue Jen-der (呂建德) said last week, however, that the ministry revoked that recognition, and that it condemned any abuse of authority, illegal acts, or other serious misconduct.

Regarding the suspect's use of his official position to obtain the girl's contact information, MOHW's Department of Social and Family Affairs Director Chou Tao-chun (周道君) said the social safety net involves multiple social welfare services and is intended to provide integrated support.

Chou said the ministry has asked Kaohsiung to review whether staff need tighter data access controls and will coordinate system changes if needed.