New taipei: The New Taipei City Education Department has announced an impending inspection of a major preschool operator following allegations of child abuse. Warnings have been issued that any violations could lead to severe penalties, including the potential revocation of the operator's permit.

According to Focus Taiwan, the department plans to inspect all 10 preschools operated by the "Yu-Chuan" group within a week. Possible penalties for violations range from reduced enrollment to suspension of operations. The Division of Early Childhood Education has emphasized a zero-tolerance policy for child mistreatment and intends to investigate and announce any violations, penalizing preschools for failures in supervision.

These actions follow allegations from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Yueh-chin, who accused the preschool operator of employing unqualified staff and mistreating children. Lin cited multiple regulation violations over the years, with oversight failures allowing issues to persist.

The event discussing these allegations included participation from Lin, Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation's Executive Director Hsu Ya-jen, and representatives of affected families. Lin highlighted past penalties imposed on the group's preschools, including a specific incident at the Tucheng preschool where surveillance footage captured an employee mistreating children. Despite this, a fine of NT$30,000 (US$948) was the only consequence at the time.

During the press event, a mother, surnamed Tsai, urged the government to conduct thorough evaluations and called for the preschool to address its mistakes. The parents of affected children proposed four demands: reassessment of cases for heavier penalties, comprehensive inspections with suspension of new enrollments, a registry to prevent unqualified staff from relocating to other preschools, and access to complete surveillance footage and investigation reports.