The Taitung District Prosecutors' Office yesterday announced indictments against four people accused of physically assaulting six children in a special preschool education class at an elementary school in Taitung County in January.
The office said it is seeking a sentence of six years and 10 months in prison for a teacher surnamed Kao (高) and four years for a teacher surnamed Sung (宋).
Prosecutor Lin Ching-jung (林靖蓉) directed a task force with the Taitung County Police Department to review surveillance camera footage after receiving reports that children in the class had been mistreated, the office said.
Photo: Huang Ming-tang, Taipei Times
The footage allegedly showed physical violence against the young students, including acts such as pushing a student’s head against a wall.
The prosecutors stated that Kao and Sung, along with assistants surnamed Huang (黃) and Chiu (丘), engaged in "mistreatment or other actions harmful to the children’s development."
Charges include contraventions of Article 286 of the Criminal Code, Article 112 of the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) and Article 304 of the Criminal Code, the office said.
Prosecutors added that Sung also faces a charge of document forgery.
The Taitung County Government in May said that Kao was fined NT$600,000 under Article 50 of the Early Childhood Education and Care Act (幼兒教育及照顧法), and permanently barred from working in the childcare services industry.
The county government said Sung was fined NT$240,000 for bullying, dismissed and banned from working in childcare services for three years.
It added that Sung was fined an additional NT$50,000 for failing to report another teacher’s abuse, bringing the total penalty to NT$290,000.
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