A student at a Taichung high school who committed suicide in February last year was bullied by school officials, the school said on Saturday, reversing its previous findings after the student’s father asked that the case be reinvestigated.
In a statement, Feng Yuan Senior High School said its latest investigation found that four staff members — the director of student affairs, the chief military instructor and two safety instructors — bullied the student, who killed himself on Feb. 18 last year.
That contradicted its previous conclusions that the staff’s actions had not amounted to bullying.
Photo courtesy of a reader
The student’s father said his son was subjected to months-long bullying by the staff members, who singled him out and frequently searched his belongings or falsely accused him of committing misdeeds.
The father said that led to his son’s suicide, but the school’s earlier investigations focused narrowly on the issue of bullying without ever linking the behavior of the staff to the student’s death.
The high school completed its first report in April last year, when it concluded that the staff members had subjected the student to “improper discipline,” which caused him “physical and mental harm.”
A second report, focusing on whether or not the staff members had bullied the student, was submitted to the Taichung Education Bureau in June.
The bureau rejected it and demanded revisions on the grounds that it lacked sufficient detail.
The school’s revised report, submitted in August, concluded that the behavior of staff toward the student did not constitute bullying.
The Education Bureau also rejected that report, calling the school’s findings “completely unacceptable,” and suspended the director of student affairs, Chang Ching-hsiang (張景翔), for one year.
The student’s father then requested another investigation.
The school on Saturday gave Chang a second one-year suspension, after it concluded that he was responsible for bullying.
As for the other staff involved, the safety instructors resigned in September last year, while the chief military instructor was removed, the bureau said.
The Humanistic Education Foundation cited the student’s father Saturday as saying that the most recent report acknowledged that his son had been bullied and treated unfairly at school, and it was unacceptable that the director of student affairs still only received a one-year suspension.
The father said he would discuss the situation with his lawyer after receiving the new report, the foundation quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, the bureau said it would continue to work on establishing a safe and friendly learning environment for students.
Those in need of counseling or assistance can call the 1925, 1995 or 1980 hotlines for help.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh
RSS