Taichung government under fire as baseball coach sexual abuse scandal widens

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) The Taichung City government faces increased criticism for oversight failures after a child sexual abuse scandal involving a baseball coach -- a repeat offender -- widened to around 50 victims.

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) of the Kuomintang (KMT) was slammed by cross-party councilors on Wednesday while fielding questions during a City Council session on the city government's handling of the case.

Taichung prosecutors on April 2 filed additional charges against the male perpetrator, surnamed Sung (松), after identifying 11 more victims.

This brought the total number of victims to approximately 50, though the exact figure remains unconfirmed as victims were identified by codenames in two previous indictments that could result in double-counting, according to the city government.

In July 2025, the Taichung District Court convicted Sung of 90 counts of sexual offenses against 32 minors, sentencing him to a prison term of between 3.5 and 8.5 years per count, with the aggregate sentence yet to be determined.

The Taiwan High Court's Taichung branch upheld the ruling in November last year after an appeal, and the case is currently before the Supreme Court.

The charges stem from Sung's tenure as a baseball coach at a Taichung elementary school where from 2019-2024 he allegedly raped, sexually assaulted and committed indecent acts against boys under the age of 14, some as young as 8.

During the City Council session, several councilors raised concerns over how Sung was able to secure a coaching position at a school despite his criminal record, questioning potential lapses in the city's background check procedures.

KMT City Councilor Liu Shih Chou (劉士州) said that such a "predatory teacher" should never be allowed to return to society.

Independent Councilor Wu Pei-yun (吳佩芸) demanded that the city government effectively screen out high-risk offenders and prevent them from entering schools.

Sung had previously been convicted of molesting young boys in 2004 and 2012. In both instances, he received a two-year prison sentence, suspended for five years of probation, after admitting to the charges and reaching settlements with the victims' families.

Several Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) councilors held a press conference to lambast the city's Education Bureau for failing to properly oversee the school's hiring of the coach, accusing the city government of shielding the bureau from responsibility.

DPP councilors argued that Chiang Woei-min (蔣偉民), director-general of the Education Bureau, was negligent in his duties.

They noted that although Chiang requested disciplinary action against himself in February 2025 -- after the scandal surfaced following a victim's complaint the previous year -- he has yet to receive any formal punishment.

DPP caucus whip Chou Yung-hong (周永鴻) further contended that the repeat offender's six-year tenure points to "a systemic breakdown in the educational system," adding that the Education Bureau cannot shirk its responsibility in this matter.

In response, Lu attributed the oversight to the school's failure to cross-check records for "unfit personnel," a mistake for which the Education Bureau intervened immediately, reprimanded the institution and removed the principal.

Lu did not provide a specific timeline or further details on these actions. She denied that the city government had engaged in a cover-up.

Claire Wang (王婉諭), a former lawmaker, said Sung was able to obtain a "clean" criminal record certificate from the police before he began working for the school in 2017 because, under current laws, his records were expunged once his probation was successfully completed.

However, Sung's records should have been flagged in the Ministry of Education's "unfit personnel" system since 2021 when Ministry of Justice criminal data was integrated into the database, Wang, chairperson of the New Power Party, said in a Facebook post.

Schools are mandated to conduct annual criminal record checks on all existing faculty and staff, but the school that hired Sung failed to perform these checks for three years, while the Education Bureau neglected its duty to oversee the process, Wang said.