The Kaohsiung District Court has sentenced a daycare center teacher to 45 days in prison for charges linked to brandishing a BB gun at a boy with developmental issues under his care, it said in a recent verdict.
The sentence can be commuted to a fine, and the ruling can still be appealed.
In 2022, a teacher surnamed Tu (杜) feigned to throw a key and water pot at the boy, surnamed Chen (陳), for allegedly causing a clamor by kicking and punching the classroom blackboard, the verdict said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Tu was also accused of saying he would rough up the child in an attempt to make him more compliant, it said.
Chen, who was eight years old at the time, had a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, it said.
Tu in March of the following year shot a BB gun at a door close to Chen, because Chen allegedly refused to do his homework before kicking a fellow student’s desk and threatening to throw a pencil box at that classmate, it said.
The child’s mother pressed charges against Tu after learning of the incidents, saying that the teacher had intimidated and physically assaulted her child with blows to the head, arm and thigh, the verdict said.
The prosecutor assigned to the case dropped the assault charges, as police did not find visible injuries on the boy and his mother did not provide medical documentation of a physical attack, it said.
Tu denied intimidating the boy and said that he disciplined the boy after getting reports from students that Chen bullied girls in the class.
The defendant additionally told the court that he had informed Chen’s grandmother of his behavioral issues at the cram school but did not receive a positive response, the verdict said.
Chen’s temper tantrums scared other children, and he would not stop when ordered, Tu was cited as saying.
The defendant contravened provisions of the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法), which bans the intimidation of children, the verdict said.
Tu acted improperly regardless of his purportedly good intentions to educate Chen, an eight-year-old child who did not know right from wrong, it said, adding that Tu might have worsened the boy’s behavioral issues by setting a bad example.
Violent disciplinary methods inadvertently teach children that might makes right, it said.
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
RSS