Police were notified on Saturday after a high-school student fell seriously ill after a teacher allegedly subjected him to repeated punishments in the form of physical exercises.
The first-year culinary-arts student, surnamed Liu (劉), at Yung-Ping Vocational High School in Taoyuan was on Thursday diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis — the breakdown of striated muscle tissue and the release of myoglobin into the bloodstream — after being rushed to hospital.
Liu was in intensive care, where he was reportedly recovering.
His parents on Saturday filed a report with police, naming Liu’s teacher, surnamed Huang (黃).
A family member said Liu has a relatively slight build and so was quickly worn out when Huang had him do a large number of push-ups for failing to register properly on the first day of classes on Monday last week.
The following day, Huang had the entire class peel red onions and students were required to do a squat jump or a crunch for every gram they fell short of a 1.2kg quota, the family member said.
Liu, who only peeled 66g, was one of eight students required to do the exercises, his family said, adding that the student was doing the exercises for half a day, but was unable to finish, so Huang demanded that he peel an additional 1.5kg of onions and barred him from taking days off.
The family said that on Thursday Liu complained of muscle pain, but did not dare take a day off school for fear of further reprimand from his teacher.
Liu went to school, but the family asked that Huang not make him perform any physical exercises, family members said.
Huang ignored the request, telling Liu to run laps of the sports field while carrying bottles of water on serving platters, the family said, adding that he was given additional laps whenever he dropped a bottle.
At home that evening Liu passed brown-colored urine and was incoherent, his parents said, adding that they immediately rushed him to the emergency room of Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
School principal Huang Yao-lu (黃耀祿) said that the teacher started at the school two years ago after working in the private sector.
He said the teacher’s methods are strict, but effective, citing students who have gone on to win international awards for their cooking.
He added that the teacher will finish his current contract with the school at the end of this month.
“Teacher Huang has expressed his regret and apologies and has promised to take full responsibility, including covering medical expenses,” the principal said.
The school said it is investigating the incident and would decide after its investigations whether to retain the teacher.
Ministry of Education K-12 Education Administration official Yang Kuo-lung (楊國隆) said the ministry will also be conducting its own investigations at the school.
Humanist Education Foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) said physical punishment in schools has long been prohibited.
“The ministry should also look into the responsibility of the school’s administration in regard to the use of corporal punishment there and make its report public,” she added.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS