National Chengchi University (NCCU) authorities yesterday pledged to review campus security after the school was censured by the Control Yuan following an incident in which a foreign student broke into a female dormitory
NCCU secretary-general Lou Yung-chien (樓永堅) said the school had tightened security at all dormitories and launched a series of reviews of security procedures.
The school regretted the incident, he said, adding that NCCU had always worked hard to prevent sexual harassment and provide campus security.
The Control Yuan on Thursday approved a motion by member Kao Fehng-shian (高鳳仙) censuring the school after a Salvadoran student at the university broke into a female dormitory in December.
The incident came to light after a resident at one of the school's dormitories posted an article on the “Grumble Board” of the school’s bulletin board system on Dec. 25 saying she was shocked to have been woken up at about 5am by a foreign man kissing her.
The resident said she screamed and said “no,” but the man allegedly told her to “relax.” The man fled the scene when she continued screaming, she said.
School authorities issued a statement on the school’s Web site the following week, saying it had identified the intruder as a student from another dormitory, but did not reveal the man’s identity.
NCCU said the victim and her parents did not file charges against the student, who later gave a personal statement and apologized.
The international student was given a major demerit and evicted from the dormitory, the university said.
“NCCU failed to adequately manage its student dormitories and to establish a mechanism to make sure the fire escape was locked, enabling the intruder to break into a female dorm room and harass another student,” the Control Yuan's censure document said, adding that the school also failed to report the case as sexual harassment to the Ministry of Education.
The Control Yuan has the power to investigate alleged malfeasance at government-affiliated organizations, including public universities such as NCCU.
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