Two more cases of suspected child abuse were made public yesterday, as prosecutors began separate investigations into a kindergarten teacher in New Taipei City and a father who is alleged to have beaten his ex-wife and children.
A mother surnamed Chen (陳) reported to police that her three-year-old son returned home from kindergarten last week with bruises and swelling on his cheeks and neck.
She said that an administrator surnamed Liao (廖) told her that the boy had sustained the injuries while fighting with other children at the kindergarten.
Chen apologized to the school official for her son’s behavior, but became suspicious after talking with her son and other staff members.
At first refusing, the staff eventually relented and showed Chen footage from the kindergarten’s surveillance cameras, which reportedly showed a female teacher punishing the woman’s son by pinching his cheeks and slapping his face.
Chen found that the teacher, who had no qualifications or certifications as a kindergarten teacher, was a Chinese citizen married to a Taiwanese and had reportedly been hired illegally.
Chen said she plans to file a lawsuit and took her son to a hospital to have his injuries examined.
Yesterday, New Taipei City Education Department inspectors assessed the kindergarten and fined it NT$210,000 for breaches of the Early Childhood Education and Care Act (幼兒教育及照顧法), including not reporting physical abuse of a child and hiring unqualified staff.
Separately yesterday, Tainan police said that a complaint was filed against a man surnamed Hsieh (謝), who reportedly had beaten his ex-wife and children, resulting in broken ribs and other injuries.
Hsieh was summoned for questioning, they said, adding that his girlfriend, surnamed Yang (楊), had also filed a complaint that Hsieh had beaten her.
Police records showed that Hsieh had been previously accused of domestic abuse — an ex-wife surnamed Tsai (蔡) had reported that Hsieh would hit her and her son (aged six) and daughter (aged two) when he was angry.
Hsieh allegedly burned the children’s skin with cigarettes and beat them, breaking their ribs, and acted violently toward Tsai, including cutting her face with machine tools.
Tainan Bureau of Social Welfare officials said that they had made 30 visits to Tsai, providing counseling and helping her get a restraining order against Hsieh to protect her and the children.
The complaint filed by Yang is a new case, they said, adding that they would help her file for a restraining order.
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