A private daycare center in Taipei has been fined NT$1.02 million (US$33,162) and ordered to close for a year after an investigation uncovered repeated mistreatment of infants and toddlers, the Taipei Department of Social Welfare said on Thursday.
The investigation into allegations made by parents in March has found that young children were treated badly by several caregivers at the center in Neihu District (內湖), the department said in a statement.
Department officials reviewed surveillance footage from the center, questioned the caregivers and convened panels of experts twice, the statement said.
Many children were forcefully pulled, shaken and even tossed to the ground, which “adversely affected their physical and mental development” and contravened child welfare and rights laws, it said.
The center was fined NT$600,000 on Tuesday last week and ordered to shut down for a year from August, it said, adding that it was fined NT$120,000 on May 2 and NT$300,000 on May 5 for failing to hand over surveillance footage, which the city government deemed to be obstruction of the investigation.
Three caregivers have had their names made public and were banned from working at any daycare center for at least five years, the department said.
Two of the caregivers were fined NT$100,000 and NT$150,000, while the third is facing a criminal investigation, it said.
The department said that it would provide resources and information to parents, and help them transfer their children to other nurseries nearby.
It would visit and examine the daycare center weekly and monitor the quality of its services for the three-month grace period before it suspends operations, the department said.
An incident first reported in late March by a mother was referred to a social worker on April 7, with the department beginning its investigation on April 11, Taipei City Councilor Hung Wan-jen (洪婉臻) said on May 4.
The mother said her child’s body was covered in bruises.
Department head Yao Shu-wen (姚淑文) at a news conference later on May 4 apologized for the delay between the incident being reported and the response from authorities.
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