Keelung: The Keelung City government has officially revoked the license of a local preschool following a child abuse case, with the school's person in charge facing substantial fines totaling NT$840,000 (US$26,220).
According to Focus Taiwan, the revocation decision came after a city government review committee completed the second stage of its administrative investigation. The committee found that the preschool had committed significant violations of the Preschool Educators' Act, involving multiple staff members. Keelung's Secretary-General, Hsieh Hsiao-kun, revealed at a news conference that Lin Hsien-chang, the individual in charge of the preschool, was fined NT$600,000 for child abuse and an additional NT$150,000 for providing educare services without the necessary qualifications.
The fines for Lin Hsien-chang were not limited to the second stage of the investigation. During the first stage, he was also fined NT$60,000 for his role as the person in charge and NT$30,000 for failure to report suspected child abuse, bringing his total fines to NT$840,000. Furthermore, two childcare workers, Yang Li-yu and Huang Shu-fang, were found guilty of serious child abuse and were each fined NT$400,000, with a permanent ban from working in early childhood education.
In addition to these penalties, two other educators faced fines of NT$60,000 each for less severe incidents of child mistreatment. The city government initiated the investigation and filed a criminal complaint after discovering several children with bruises allegedly resulting from abuse at the preschool.
The initial stage of the investigation also identified two educators, Lin Chia-ching and Liu Ke-chieh, in violation of the Preschool Educators' Act. They were fined NT$400,000 each and permanently banned from early childhood education roles. Public criticism regarding the initial leniency of penalties prompted Keelung Mayor Hsieh Kuo-liang to announce a two-stage investigation process, involving a thorough review of surveillance footage to inform the decision to revoke the preschool's license.
In a related development, prosecutors granted bail to six suspects on Tuesday after questioning. Lin Hsien-chang, his wife, who is the preschool's principal, and Lin Chia-ching were each released on NT$200,000 bail, while Liu, Yang, and Huang were released on NT$100,000 bail. All six suspects have been restricted from leaving Taiwan as the investigation proceeds.